The Present and A Third Seat
by EaSnowPw
Summary: Emily is Hirako Shinji's 3rd seat, trying to adapt. Currently the loss of her once huge power and the return of her past are creating her many difficulties. Will her friends be there for her? Turn Back the Pendulum Arc. ShinjixOC
1. Proologue

Hirako Shinji was in a hospital room. No, he wasn't sick or wounded, at least not physically. He was just visiting his lethally wounded 3rd Seat. Emmalin Niagra. She had been in hospital for 4 days. The old man had tried to keep it secret. Everything had happened so quickly. A year ago he didn't even know her name or who she was. No, scratch that. She was Senkai. The leader of the Central 46. He couldn't not know about her. He just didn't give a shit about her, or her two step brothers for that matter. Now, here he was. Worried sick about her. The irony of the situation was sadistic, at least. Who would have thought that Hirako Shinji would genuinely fall in love? Nobody, and yet…

* * *

The door opened, revealing an aggravated Kensei, along with Love and Rose.

"How could you? How could you let her get like this, bastard?" Kensei yelled. Shinji's eyes widened. He gulped, looking away from his friend, guilt flashing through his eyes.

"I couldn't…" Kensei didn't give him a chance to finish.

"Don't you give me that crap! You're a Captain, she's a 3rd Seat! You're far stronger than her! Did you just watch…" Love covered his mouth.

"Oi, Kensei, chill out. I'm sure Shinji did everything he could."

"Yeah, why would he want Niagra-san hurt anyway? She's his girlfriend, after all." Rose completed. Shinji looked at them for a while. Rose and Love were shocked to see the guilt in his eyes, more than they have ever seen.

"Let him talk. He's right, after all. I could've done more…" Kensei's eyes widened. He broke from his friends' grip and aimed at punch at Shinji.

"Son of a bitch! Then why didn't you?..." His arm was caught from behind. All eyes widened.

* * *

"No fuckin way." Shinji whispered. The white haori was still moving from the momentum. Kensei's fist was slightly trembling. He didn't know the man, but he was wearing a captain's haori and emanated power. Love and Rose were dumbstruck from the number written on the back. 0. The Captain of the secret Division 0 had come to visit the 3rd Seat of the 5th in person. "Good to see you dropped by, Ayazomi-Taicho." Shinji said. He had expected the man to come. After all, Emmalin had been his sempai over 100 years ago and their bond was still pretty strong. Ayazomi Kye, the Captain of Division 0. He looked at Kensei.

"Muguruma-Taicho, as much as I share your anger, I must inform you that this is a hospital room, not a fighting ground." He said. Kensei palled. Kye let go of his arm. "I must ask you three to leave this room for a few moments. I need to talk about something important with Hirako-san." Rose, Love and Kensei left. Kye turned towards Shinji. "Well, now, I'd love to blame you for what happened, but…" he sighed "…this is my sempai we're talking about and I'm pretty sure there was nothing you could have done. Was it?" he asked. Shinji avoided Kye's eyes on him.

"I don't know. I'm pretty sure there was." Kye rolled his eyes.

"Then tell me what happened, who was the enemy and I'll decide that." Shinji sighed.

"Fine. The enemy was the King of Hueco Mundo…"

"You're kidding me!" Kye yelled, shocked.

"Nope. The old man told us all not to go there. But there were already shinigami fighting him. People we knew and Emily was friends with. She didn't give a shit about his orders and told me to go with her. I did as she said, but on our way there… she asked a favor." Shinji stopped, thinking of a way to explain everything.

"What kind of favor?"

"Once we got there, I was supposed to take all the others and get them to safety. I told her I'd come back to help her and she agreed. When we got there… she got that wound." Shinji said, pointing towards her chest. "She still told me to do as we had decided. When I got back she was barely able to move. I distracted the hollow and she sent him to Hueco Mundo."

"What did you do after?"

"I took her to the 4th as quickly as possible. That's all."

"Well, fuck, there was nothing more _I_ would have done." Kye said. "She was going all-out, right? Mask and all." He whispered. Shinji nodded. "Then you did all you could. How is she, by the way?"

"Still alive." Kye smirked knowingly and prepared to leave. He first walked up to Shinji, placing a hand on the other man's shoulder.

"It's not your fault. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise." He said before leaving. The other three Captains weren't on the hall. Kye sweat dropped. 'They eavesdropped then ran away like chickens. Cowards.'

* * *

Emily was surrounded by a mass of darkness. 'Am I dead?' The darkness started to absorb her, as she felt panic surround her. 'Jyubi! I need you, where are you?' she tried to yell, but couldn't. Then she saw it. Jyubi was watching her, surrounded by his yellow reiatsu. 'Jyubi… please.' He sighed. The darkness stopped advancing, but didn't pull back. _'I can save you, but the price is…'_ he trailed off, almost afraid to continue. 'What is it? Jyubi, I'm running out of time here!'

'_The price is your Senkai power. You will lose all the power you have as Senkai, being left only enough to be a 3__rd__ Seat. However, your power will slowly return. In 100 years it will all be back. So, do you wish to give it up?'_

Emily closed her eyes. 'Losing my power…' Her mind filled with her memories with Shinji. 'I never really needed it. I accept.'

'_Then so be it.'_


	2. Awaken and visits

~~~~~~~Shinji's POV~~~~~

It was nearly a week since Emily's been in hospital. Unohana kept a neutral face while telling me that there were no changes. I didn't know whether to take that as good or bad news. I was currently in the hospital room where Emily was, worried. _'You know, I doubt this is healthy. You should try and get some sleep. You haven't had a good night's sleep in a week.'_ I promptly ignored Sakanade's words. What did she know anyway? Every time I had tried to sleep I had had nightmares. I would sleep when it would all be over. My eyes widened when I sensed Emily's reistsu spike up. It was even visible, the yellow light surrounding her. 'This is bad. It can't go unnoticed.' However, it quickly vanished, her reiatsu becoming as stable as it was before. Only less. I thought that Jyubi finally took matters in his own hands and healed her via her own reiatsu. To me, he's not only the strongest zanpakutou, but also the weirdest. He is an independent zanpakutou, unlike all others, meaning that he can manifest in the real world without Emily's approval and has his own reiatsu as well, slightly different from hers. She had also said that he can see the future and his power allows him to make 'deals' with her, giving her even more power than usual. It's mostly as if they share a contract, rather than a normal shinigami-zanpakutou relationship. My hopes were confirmed as she started moving slowly…

* * *

~~~~~Emily's POV~~~~

I slowly drifted back to consciousness. I was fully aware of the position I found myself in, hospitalized and all. My chest hurt badly, just from breathing. '_I can't heal it. It will recover normally, maybe even leaving a scar.'_

'You've done so much for me already. It's okay.'

I made a weak attempt to rise from bed, only to hiss sharply when my chest started hurting once more. My eyes shot open and I saw Shinji watching me from a chair. He looked really tired, but relieved at the same time.

"Shinji…"

"How do you feel?" he asked, genuinely concerned. Now wait a minute, he doesn't blame himself for what happened, does he? I stretched a little, about as much as my wound allowed me to.

"Well, I've been better, but I'm fine. Can you help me a little here?" Shinji raised a confused eyebrow, then walked up to me and helped me stand up. He sat on the side of the bed, scanning me curiously. "You look like shit, when was the last time you slept normally?" He just shrugged at my question.

"Yesterday…"

"Liar!" I interrupted him. "You haven't slept at all since I got in hospital, have you?" Shinji seemed taken aback by my words. "How long have I been here anyway?"

"A week." He answered, yawning. "Unohana wasn't sure you'd survive." He added, worry obvious in his voice.

'I wouldn't have. Arigato Jyubi.'

I placed a hand behind Shinji's neck, pulling him closer so I could kiss him. We broke apart and I pulled him down. "Get some sleep, Shinji. You need it." I said, moving to the side so he would fit. He opposed a little, but I figured he was way too tired to deny himself some well-deserved rest. I felt his arms around my waist as I also lounged back on the far-too-small-for-two-people bed. I was pressed tight against Shinji. I could feel him breathing, his chest rising and falling calmly. I looked him in the eyes only to find him doing the exact same thing. Damn, he was worried still! I sighed. "Baka, what would you do if I died?" I asked softly.

"It's a possibility I'd rather ignore. I want to know you're safe all the time. What happened proved me that I am not doing my job properly." I rolled my eyes and kissed him.

"Hey, I'm here. I'm fine. You don't need to worry anymore." I said, slowly falling asleep.

* * *

~~~~~~Few hours later, Normal POV~~~~~

Unohana had informed all Captains and Vice-Captains of Emily's state. Now Kensei, Mashiro, Lisa, Rose, Love, Shunsui, Junshiro, Yoruichi, Urahara and Hiyori were all waiting in front of the room, staring through the small window in the door. Emily was sleeping on top of Shinji with her head on his chest. He was asleep as well.

"Aww, aren't they just cute?" Mashiro asked childishly.

"Shut up!" Kensei said, annoyed.

"Well, I can't deny that she's right." Urahara remarked. Several others agreed.

"No point in making fun of that now." Yoruichi remarked. "They've been officially together for a while."

"You're right, Yoruichi-san." Urahara said, a disappointed look on his face.

"Damn baldy should wake up already." Hiyori muttered. Love rolled his eyes, though nobody noticed since he was wearing sunglasses.

"Let him rest, Hiyori."

"Yeah, Shinji had barely slept this week." Rose said. Hiyori proceeded to beat the crap out of the two. Lisa chuckled.

"Shinji's been replaced."

"Lisa-chan, don't be so mean~!" Shunsui chanted.

"Hey, she's waking up." Ukitake announced. Everyone went silent. The Shintaichos were slightly worried. Yamamoto's words were still ringing in their ears. _No matter what, don't reveal the way she was wounded, or her identity as Senkai._

* * *

Emily's eyes slowly opened, her sleep confusion slowly clearing. She quickly noted that she was sleeping on top of Shinji and that there were many impatient people waiting to enter the room. "Shinji, wake up." She proceeded to shake him awake. Shinji groaned in frustration. "Shinji, the others are waiting outside." The affirmation seemed to serve as a motivation worthy of Shinji's awakening. No sooner he rose from bed, the door opened and Hiyori kicked her way in, starting to scuffle with Shinji. Emily sweat dropped and focused on the others.

"Emily-chan, how are you? We were so worried about you! Even though Kensei-meanie won't admit it, he was the…" Kensei pulled back his Lieutenant.

"It's good to have you back." He said.

"Well, more or less. I still can't get out of this bed." Emily answered.

"Eh, that'll come in time. You're conscious, that matters most." Lisa said.

"By the way, how did it happen?" Love asked.

"Yeah, what did you two do?" Rose asked. Kyoraku quickly jumped in.

"You surely don't want our precious Emily-chan to revive such horrible memories, do you?" Emily raised an eyebrow, knowing the trick. The other two raised their arms defensibly.

"Course not!"

* * *

**A/N: Hehe, I bet you can all guess what Mashiro tried to say.**


	3. Old acquaintances and chocolate

Most of the visitors had left, except for Shinji and Ginrei Kuchiki. Emily's eyes trailed off to the elder. He had arrived later than the others, probably hoping to talk to her alone. She couldn't help but feel guilty: it had almost been a year since she had returned to Soul Society and she hadn't as much as talked to him. 'What kind of person am I? He had practically raised me and my brothers. The least I owe him is an explanation.' Shinji seemed eager to talk as well. But to her, he was the less important person there. She gave him a look, trying to make him understand that she wanted him to leave, which he did, using a rather good excuse for once. A little after he left, Emily decided to break the ice.

"Kuchiki-san, gomenasai." Ginrei raised an eyebrow at her words. "I know I should have paid a visit to the Kuchiki manor since I've returned…" He sighed.

"At first, I thought you were busy. Adapting to your new position, trying to fit in. After a while, though, I realized you weren't going to visit. So I took this opportunity to talk to you. Why didn't you come? Were you afraid of something?" Emily shook her head in denial.

"At first, I was afraid that it would remind me of my brothers. Afterwards, however… I was confused. I didn't know what to say. I don't feel like I belong to the world of nobles. I also know you have a nephew to take care of. You made me feel home in your house, but I just… didn't want to get in the way." The elder eyed her confused.

"You would never get in the way. I cared about you three as if you were my own children. I could never hope to replace the ones you had lost, however."

"Gomenasai."

"Oh, stop apologizing already! I just want to know how you are, if you have any problems I can help with and that sort of stuff. I forgive you for not visiting. I hadn't been at home lately anyway." Ginrei said/ yelled.

"Well, I think you know most aspects of my life…" Emily said blushing. The Captain laughed.

"Actually, the whole Sereitei knows you're dating your Taicho. Even the Central 46 are gossiping about it."

"Yeah, there are several more things, all related to my rank."

"Like?"

"Well, for starters, you are the very first person to find out that I've lost most of my power, only remaining 3rd Seat luckily." Emily did her best not to laugh at Ginrei's look.

"You... lost you Senkai power?"

"Yeah. It was the price for my survival."

"That's too bad. What do you mean I am the first to know this?"

"Just what I said. I can't tell Shinji. Not now, anyway."

"Why not?"

"I just can't."

"Hmm… anyway how are you feeling?"

"Well, as good as it can be expected. The wound still hurts and I'm still not taking the chance to walk around yet." Emily said.

"Well, I hope we would talk more often from now. Have a quick recovery!" Ginrei said, leaving. As he walked outside, he noticed that Shinji was sitting on a nearby chair, waiting patiently. 'He… didn't eavesdrop?'

* * *

"Hirako-Taicho, I am done talking to Emmalin. You are free to join her." Shinji smirked.

"So formal." He muttered. "Of course, Kuchiki-Taicho. I am glad you two have finally been able to talk." Ginrei's eyes widened. Then realization hit him and he started laughing. Shinji looked at him confused. "Is there anything funny, Kuchiki-Taicho?"

"Yes, I mean no. I should have realized she had told you everything. You are, after all, becoming more and more important to her. Am I right, Hirako-san?" Shinji smiled bitterly.

"I hope you are, Kuchiki-san. I really hope you are."

Ginrei smiled and left. However, as he turned around, his smile faded. 'You didn't tell him because he is worried enough already.' He concluded.

* * *

~~~~~~Few days later~~~~~

Shinji entered the hospital room, only to find Unohana there, talking to Emily. The doctor left, leaving the two alone.

"Hey, I brought ya somethin'." Shinji said.

"Really? What?" Shinji showed Emily a box of chocolate.

"I figured the hospital food is not sweet enough for you." Emily smiled, accepting the small gift.

"Aww, but you are." She said, quickly starting to eat. She offered Shinji some chocolate as well, which he accepted. Then Mashiro burst in.

"Ohayo! How are you two? Is that chocolate?" The other two sweat dropped.

"Ohayo! Fine, and yes." Emily answered. Mashiro gave her puppy eyes.

"Can I have one?" Shinji chuckled.

"Yes. Just one." Emily answered.

"Selfish meanie~!" Mashiro whined. "Why do you give him more?" she said, pointing towards Shinji.

"Cuz he's the one who bought them." Emily answered, rolling her eyes.

* * *

"You really thought someone else bought Emily a _heart-shaped_ chocolate box and survived?" Yoruichi asked, entering through the window. Without a second thought, she grabbed three sweets, giving one to Mashiro. "They would need a last wish for that." Shinji rolled his eyes.

"Hey, I'm not _that_ possessive."

"'That' being the key word there. I really believe you are capable of murdering anyone making a pass at Emily-chan." Emily smiled, kissing her boyfriend, causing the other two females in the room to roll their eyes.

"There's nothing wrong with that. I don't enjoy too much attention anyway."

"Yeah, sure." Yoruichi said.

"Emily-chan, when are getting out of hospital?" Mashiro asked.

"Well, I wanted to tell you that Unohana said she allows me to go home… as long as I won't put myself under a lot of physical stress. In English, it means that I am free to go home as long as I take it easy." Emily explained. Everyone else in the room bowed, thanking her for the translation. Yoruichi and Mashiro left.

* * *

"So, when are gonna sleep in your own bed again?" Shinji asked. Emily shrugged.

"I really don't know. I haven't even gotten out of _this_ bed yet."

"You know, I can help you up, if you want."

"Thanks. I'd like to feel the ground under my feet. I'd die of boredom here without you." Shinji smiled, helping her up.

"It's the least I can do…"

"Don't start! I told you this countless times already! It is not your god damn fault! You did what I asked you to! Well, mostly, since if you had done exactly what I had told you to…" none of them bothered to finish the phrase, the end being obvious and too painful.


	4. Morning and Choice

"Oi, wake up Emily!" Shinji said. It was the day she was supposed to go home and the previous day she had asked him to pick her up in the morning. Of course, Shinji had wanted some fun, so he came early, finding her asleep as planned.

Emmalin was drifting between consciousness and dreams. She had very little motivation to get up that early. She groaned in frustration, turning around in bed, thus her back was facing Shinji.

"Nu-uh!"

"Oh, come on~! I'll eat your chocolate then!" Shinji said. From the box of chocolate he had brought her two days before there was one sweet left. She had kept it 'to give her a reason to wake up.' An emergency bulb lit in Emily's mind, but she ignored it.

"You wouldn't dare!" Shinji grinned at her words. **(A/N: Yeah, **_**that**_** grin!)** He bit half of the sweet, licking his lips.

"Mmm, it's good. I can understand why you like this stuff so much." Emily turned, staring wide-eyed at Shinji who held the chocolate half proudly.

"Hey!" Shinji ate the last chocolate. Emily pouted, turning around angrily. "Meanie!" He laughed. "Now I'm surely not getting up. Not without chocolate taste in my mouth."

"Your fault~! I warned you." No answer. "Hey! Ignoring me, come on? It was just some chocolate. I'll buy you another box." Still no response. "Really?" Emily was apparently asleep. Shinji sighed, an idea popping up in his mind. "If you taste chocolate, will you wake up?"

"Yes…" she answered, somehow unsure. Emily turned to see what Shinji was up to, only to feel his lips pressed against hers. He parted his lips, inviting her in. She quickly understood what he was trying to do, slipping her tongue in and searching through his mouth for the demanded taste. She deliberately avoided his tongue, making his groan in frustration. Finally, she found a bit of chocolate right under his tongue, hidden. They parted grinning. "Will you get up now?" Shinji asked. Emily rolled her eyes and complied.

* * *

~~~~~~Later~~~~~

Emily was with Shinji in her room. Shinji was walking around, apparently restless.

"Shinji, there's something you need to know." He stopped suddenly, eyeing her curious.

"I'm listening."

"Well, I… I didn't tell you that…" she stopped, nervous and afraid to continue. Shinji understood the seriousness of her words and sat near her, pulling her close.

"What is it? You know you can tell me anything, right?" He said, looking into Emily's eyes.

"I didn't want you to worry. It's just… in order to regain consciousness and survive, Jyubi had demanded a price."

"A price?" Shinji asked confused.

"The temporary loss of my Senkai powers. Right now, I'm no stronger than an average 3rd seat." Shinji's eyes widened. He sat up, resuming walking around angrily. He had a hand through his hair, worry and frustration obvious in his behavior.

"Oh, fuck! When did you find out?" Emily avoided his eyes on her.

"Jyubi presented it to me as a choice."

"Why… just why didn't you tell me before?"

"You were worried enough as it was. I can't hide it for much longer. That's why I told you." Each answer seemed to frustrate Shinji more.

"So you would've hidden it more. Do you trust me that little?" He asked, apparently angry.

"No! I was worried about you. You were a total mess when I woke up. I didn't want to give you more of a reason to worry!" Shinji took a deep breath, trying to calm down.

"Alright. You said temporary?"

"It'll be slowly coming back for 100 years." He rolled his eyes at her answer.

"That means BS to me." Shinji was angry, that much Emily could tell. What she didn't know, though, was the fact that he angry at both her and Jyubi. He was pissed off on her for not telling him such important stuff earlier and on the Zanpakutou for making such a deal. 'Couldn't he have done it for free?' The two were restricted by some weird laws he didn't know nor understand. 'This sucks.'

Emily was watching Shinji nervously. Reiatsu was storming off him in waves, causing her a certain degree of discomfort. She fidgeted uncomfortably. He was just walking around, too pissed off to notice. "Shinji…" He spun around, preparing to give a smartass reply, but he figured her reason for calling, so he checked his reiatsu.

"Gomen. Didn't figure you're sensitive." He said. Emily nodded. Shinji sat down on the bed next to her. "I overreacted. Gomen." She sighed. Shinji looked her in the eyes. He sighed at her unsaid apology. Emily cuddled in his arms, trying to get comfortable, while he was playing with her hair.

* * *

"Did you… want to tell me anything?" she asked.

"Yeah… I have a proposal for you. A choice rather."

"About?"

"I figured I've never taken you on a date…" Emily smiled.

"I don't mind it too much."

"Well, I thought I'd make up for it. So I thought about taking you out tonight… or tomorrow, whichever suits you."

"Where?"

"My thoughts were on a rather formal restaurant or… well option 2 is out now." Emily chuckled.

"Really? Were you going to take me in a bandits' camp?" Shinji smirked.

"Nope. A club an acquaintance of mine owns. But the guy is rather… how should I put it?"

"Perverted?"

"Nah, that's an understatement. But if you wanna use it… yeah, he's a pervert. Enough to leer at you the instant you walk in. Also, there are other people there who may try some things. I am so **not** having that."

* * *

Emily was a rather energetic person, so the second option suited her more. Shinji, on the other hand, was adamant in his opinion regarding the club.

"C'mon, I can so take care of myself. Besides, you'll be there with me, won't you?" she asked, forcing him to look at her. Shinji sighed at her puppy eyes. Emily was sitting on his lap, straddling his hips, her arms around his neck.

"Just no, 'kay?"

"Why not? Don't you trust your ability to protect me?" Shinji shook his head in denial. "Why not? Don't give me the crap about that night! I bet even Kye couldn't have done anything!" Emily yelled. She could see the hurt look on his face, the guilt and sadness whenever they even hinted that topic. Others thought he had gotten over it. Very few actually knew the truth. "Shinji, please. Take me to the club. Nothing bad will happen." 'I will prove you that you can take care of me.' Shinji seemed thoughtful for a while. Emily's eyes were set on him. After what seemed like an eternity, he answered. "Fine. I'll come get you tonight at 8."


	5. Club and old friends

Shinji was waiting in front of Emily's room. It was 8 o'clock and he had already knocked. The door opened, revealing Emily. Shinji's jaw dropped. She was wearing a scripted purple T-shirt with a short black and white skirt. Her curves were perfectly empathized by the rather revealing clothing. She was wearing high-heeled sandals, becoming a little taller than him. She was wearing many thin bracelets on her right wrist. Her hair was falling graciously to her sides. Her soft red lips smiling with amusement. Light purple makeup around her green eyes, her favorite contrast. Emily chuckled. "Hey, I see you've come in time. Come in a little. I was preparing my purse." Shinji followed her mechanically. He was stunned by her beauty, constantly admiring her as if she was a goddess.

'_Hey, yo! Get used to this! You're gonna see it all night!'_

Sakanade's plea got Shinji back on Soul Society.

"You're gorgeous." He said. Emily spun around smiling, her eyes gleaming in amusement.

"Good to have you back. Thanks!"

"What can I say, I was dumbstruck by your beauty. You should dress like this more often."

"Oh! And here I thought you don't like others checking me out." Shinji rolled his eyes, leading Emily through the night.

"I don't. I just wanna enjoy it. Who said you were going anywhere?"

"Aww, am I little doll then?" Emily whined. Shinji kissed her.

"Only in beauty. You're way more precious."

* * *

The two arrived at the club. Right in front of the entrance, there was a huge bodyguard that can make the current Kenpachi look like a child. Emily looked at Shinji, waiting for an explanation. "Well, you need to know the boss here to enter." So of course they were stopped. "Yo, you forgot me in 50 years? Let me in. She's with me." The cold man stared at Shinji for a moment, then his eyes widened in realization.

"Sorry sir, you may come in."

"That's what I thought. " Shinji said, entering. Emily followed him. Inside, the music was so loud they could barely hear each other. There were many Rukongai citizens dancing and even some shinigamis.

"You know him?" Shinji grinned.

"I know everyone."

* * *

He led her to the bar, where he asked the bartender about some guy called JJ. "He is busy. With is usual job." Was the only answer he got. Emily told him to search for whoever he was looking for. She ordered a cocktail and waited patiently. Her eyes widened when she felt some stranger's hands roaming on her shoulders. She was sipping her drink.

"Such a body… I don't know you **yet**. How did you enter?" Emily shivered.

"My boyfriend got us in. The guard knows him. Btw, he'll kick your ass if you try anything suspicious." The hands went lower. She could feel the man's breath near her ear.

"Really? Huh, I am as strong as a shinigami. He can't defeat me, whoever he is. Besides…" Emily flinched, trying to pull away when his hands reached her chest. "… I usually get the woman I want." Suddenly she didn't feel anything.

* * *

The man flew in a nearby wall. He sat up, his eyes widening when he saw who had hit him.

"Hands off, JJ." Shinji said calmly, though his face looked anything but. Emily sat up as he placed an arm around her waist.

"Hirako… it's been a while."

"Yes, it has. That doesn't give you the right to hit on my girlfriend."

"Sorry. Had I known…" he turned towards Emily. "I am sorry, miss…" Emily scanned the man coldly. He was quite handsome, she had to admit. However, his body did no justice. He was pretty plump and medium height. He had black hair and yellow eyes. She could feel his reiatsu. He could have been a Fuku-Taicho easily. He also seemed afraid of Shinji for a certain reason.

"Emmalin Niagra. Niagra-san for you."

"Niagra-san. I am very sorry if I interrupted anything."

"Actually I was looking for you to ask a favor." Shinji said. Emily got the message and went to finish her drink.

* * *

"What is it?"

"Do you guys have karaoke? She may want some later. I hope. She is a great singer. Even Rose admitted it."

"Oh, then sure. I haven't seen you in ages, man! What was that greeting for?"

"Warning. There was no other way you'd get it."

"Ah, gomen! What should I say, she's a good one. I thought you weren't going to date anymore. You know, that's what you said when I came in your office." Shinji rolled his eyes.

"Since when do you care?"

"Well, because that either means she's a slut or… o m g, you've fallen for her! Haha, that's hilarious!" JJ started laughing. Shinji blushed slightly.

"Shut up! At least I do have a stable girlfriend."

"What can I say? I am not a stable man. I don't want a family. You were the one who did. That's why you stopped coming over. Why did you bring her here anyway?" Shinji shrugged.

"I thought she would like this place. I don't wanna lie anymore. She should know what kind of man I am."

"You were. You left." JJ reminded. "Is she the one?" he asked grinning.

"I hope."

* * *

Emily was sipping her drink at the bar. She felt Shinji's arms around her waist as he sat next to her.

"Whacha drinkin?"

"A cocktail."

"Is it any good?" Emily nodded, offering him the drink, which he tasted. "Womanly." He said, pouting. Emily laughed. Shinji ordered some "good old sake."

"Wanna dance? You'll have to teach me, by the way." Shinji rolled his eyes.

"If I teach you, will you sing?" Emily's eyes widened.

"No."

"Why? You have an amazing voice. You really need to show up a little."

"Just no."

"Please. One song." Shinji said. He could never understand why she never sang.

There was a small glaring competition between the two, which ended in Shinji's favor (as usual). They both got up and went to the dance floor. Shinji arranged Emily's arms on himself. "Okay? Now follow my lead. Good. Oh, and for God's sake! Relax!" Emily was trying her best and soon she was moving skillfully, attracting unwanted sideways attention. Unlike her, Shinji noticed, a feeling of unease starting to surround him.

After a few songs Emily found herself some courage and went to JJ to ask for his karaoke system. He, of course, allowed her to sing and went to the bar with Shinji. Emily found out that people actually liked her voice and sang more than one song.

"You were right. She has an amazing voice." JJ remarked. Shinji grunted.

"Yeah."

"What's wrong?"

"Tch. See those guys?" JJ nodded in understanding.

"They mean trouble. Don't be afraid to call in for help if you need it. Though I doubt you will. None of them has reiatsu. I'm gonna need some more drink." JJ said, starting to laugh.

Shinji ignored his old friend's pointless rant and focused on Emily's crowd of 'admirers'. It didn't take him long to notice the drugs they had. However, when Emily was taken by them to their table he realized he would have to punch someone that night.

* * *

**A/N: Hehe, the worst part of the night has yet to come.**


	6. Hangover

~~~~~~Morning, 9:00, Shinji's POV~~~~~~

Fuck the alarm clock! When did I set it at 9? I was sleeping nicely after a rather tiring and violent night and that thing had to wake me up. As I sat up and turned the hell machine off, I figured I shouldn't have moved so briskly, mainly because my immediate next destination was the toilet. Just to empty my stomach of all that alcohol I'm gonna kill JJ for. Somehow, he had always been the only one able to make me overdo it even if I didn't want to. After I was done throwing up, I washed my face trying to remember last night's events. 'Memory, why do you fail me now?' I rested against the wall, feeling slightly dizzy and weak. I tried to focus and somehow remembered some key points. Emily sang, then those idiots, then… what? Nothing. Well, my mind was trashed, I could say that much. It didn't help at all that my head was throbbing in pain. I slid down on the floor, feeling the room spin with me. I was confused, I had drunk a lot and probably did some drugs but I could never be sure. Then I saw it. At first, it was a white blur and confusing sounds but then I felt a needle in my left arm and I heard a creepy laugh. Strangely enough, I was starting to feel better. I immediately recognized the familiar hollow in front of me. "Helen…"

"Ah! Good morning, Hirako-san~!" she said, her creepy voice killing my ears.

"Morning. Whacha doing here?"

"Well, I thought I would pay you a visit, since master feels like shit. And the medicine I gave you doesn't have any effect on her." She pouted. That got my attention.

"Why not?"

"Well, easy. It only helps with alcohol aftereffects and she also had drugs."

"I didn't?" Helen rolled her eyes. "Well, I barely remember anything."

"Really?" she started laughing like mad. Considering her voice, it was more like an evil laugh, sending shivers down anyone's spine.

"Care to refresh my memory?"

"Ah, ok. Well, you see, you do remember she agreed to sing." I nodded. "After that, some guys took her before you at their table. They gave her some herbs. You saw that and tried to take her away and they wouldn't let you and they attacked you and you kicked their asses. Then you came back home." As she was speaking, the images started coming back to me and I easily remembered the 8 men I hit. I also remembered the way Emily was acting, all weird and clingy. She had been holding onto me during the time I was fighting and when I took her home also. Then… yeah she offered me some… wtf was that? Tequila? Well, doesn't matter, cuz it was alcoholic anyway. Then… well… I left.

"So…?" Helen asked. I knew why she was in my room. I knew why she had refreshed my memory. I knew why she was still waiting patiently for me to get up and understand what she wanted. She was Emily's inner hollow. She never asked for favors. Well, almost never. I honestly owed her one for telling me to talk to Emily that night when she was pissed on me and I ended up confessing. Yeah, big IOU. This, however, wasn't a favor. I wanted to see Emily as much as Helen wanted me to. So I saw no problem in getting up and walking towards the door.

"I will see how Emily's doing." Helen smiled.

"Looking forward to it."

* * *

~~~~~A little bit later~~~~

I knocked at Emily's door. After the 3rd attempt I realized she wasn't going to answer so I tried the door, which was obviously locked. After a while, though, the door opened, revealing a serious-looking Ying. I hardly stiffened a laugh. He looked as if he had just woken up. After I entered the room he vanished and I locked the door. My eyes scanned the room for Emily. She was sitting on her bad, face pressed against the pillows. I walked up to her and placed a hand on her head. She groaned. "Shinji, it's too bright~!" she whined. I searched for the source of light and closed the curtains.

"Okay, no more light. Will you get up now?"

"No. I'm too dizzy. My head feels heavy…" she spun around, her eyes setting on me. "Come here." I sat on the bed, next to her.

"It's called hangover." She groaned. "You didn't get up at all, did you?"

"I'd puke if I did." Someone was moody, eh? But I couldn't blame her.

"Well, are you gonna stay here all day?"

"Got anything against it?" She asked angrily. I raised my arms defensibly.

"No!"

We sat like that for what seemed like forever. She was lounged on her bed, the blanket all over her. I was sitting on the side of the bed, looking into her Emerald green eyes. Silence engulfing us. I don't know what she was thinking about, but I was trying to remember last night. I somehow succeeded.

* * *

After I took her away, she was all clingy and cuddly and I will never understand how I didn't take advantage of it, since I was drunk as well. However, I was glad things turned out well. Though I couldn't help but wonder.

"Do you remember anything?" Emily glared.

"Not much. Am I supposed to remember that I acted like a bitch in heat? Or that I was drugged? Or, oh joys, that I nearly got kidnapped? Btw, thanks for babysitting me." She answered, blushing.

"Anytime. That's what boyfriends are for, after all." Emily's blush intensified and I leaned in to kiss her. Her mouth tasted somewhat of alcohol and a rather familiar taste I wished I would never encounter again. Even like that I felt I could never get enough of her. It was a miracle in and of itself that nothing had gone too wrong the night before. "Do you regret it?" I finally summoned enough courage to ask. Emily glared.

"If I regret it? Are you out of your mind? This was the best night I've ever had! It was completely insane, but I still can't believe I did all that! When can we do it again?" she asked, apparently excited. Her answer left me speechless for a while. I certainly didn't want a night like that too soon.

"We'll see. You still haven't recovered from this one."

* * *

Emily rolled her eyes at my answer. I finally realized she didn't care about her safety or health. She only cared about feeling well. She lived driven by emotions, always following the moment's impulse, being used to taking spontaneous decisions. So of course she had enjoyed the previous night, with all the stuff that had happened. I, on the other hand, had lived many years like that. I was sick of that kind of life. Unlike her, I was fully aware of the risks we would be taking by going back there. Those guys don't give up easily. They don't like some 'stranger' meddling into their affairs. I didn't have any doubts that JJ would keep them in check if he had to, but if we went back right into their territory things might get ugly. And that was why I thought that staying in Sereitei for a while wouldn't kill us.


	7. Past

"So are you saying we can't go back?"

"For a while, no. We would get in trouble."

"Aww, come on." Emily pouted. Shinji shook his head in denial. "What makes you think that anyway?"

"I know this kind of people."

"Yeah, sure." Silence engulfed them both and neither dared break it for a long while.

* * *

"Hey Shinji, how come you know JJ?" Shinji sighed at Emily's question. Emily's eyes widened at his reaction. He seemed rather nostalgic, somehow haunted by memories he deeply regretted.

"He… well, he was my friend back when I lived in Rukongai." He took her confused look as an invitation to continue. "Emily, not everyone is like you. You went to the Academy the day after you arrived in Rukongai. In my case, there were decades. I lived a life led by the worst depravities. I somehow managed to get some money together, so I built a club."

Emily gasped. "That club?"

Shinji nodded. "Yes. Well, it was easy at first. Don't you dare think that I didn't know I had reiatsu. I did. But I thought that shinigami life was boring. After all, in that world power is everything and I had it all. Money, strength, knowledge. There were very few who would dare mess up with me and they would all die easily when I unsheathed Sakanade. Yes, I knew Shikai. It was perfect, or so JJ thought. Unlike me, he was born for this kind of life."

"What happened? Why did you enroll in the Academy?"

"I got sick of it. It all started to feel… wrong, like I didn't belong there anymore. I shared my feelings with JJ and he suggested that I should become a shinigami. I left everything to him under one condition. If I ever want to go back, he will give me everything he has gathered while I was away."

Emily tilted her head in confusion. "Were you some kind of boss for him?"

Shinji sighed. "Yes. From all points of view."

Emily's eyes widened in shock. "All points… of view?"

Her mind immediately traveled back to her encounter with JJ, to his lecherous behavior. Her mind replaced JJ's hands with Shinji's and the image quickly formed. She placed him smoking herbs with the men that tempted her and everywhere in the club. 'Depravities… smoke, drugs… and sex, right?' She could hardly believe that someone could leave a life like that completely. Her eyes then drifted to Shinji, he seemed to be waiting for the worst, probably for her to tell him to leave and never talk to her again, but it just seemed wrong. She would never do that. The past was just some sort of story, it didn't describe him anymore, he was right to leave it behind, but still there was something confusing her.

"Why did you take me there?"

Shinji shrugged. "Every once in a while doesn't kill. Besides, I knew you would love it. For a certain reason, you seem to enjoy this sort of life."

Emily read between the lines. 'I did it for you.' was the main point. "You didn't have to."

Shinji chuckled. "Didn't have to? Of course not. But it felt one-sided. You told me everything and I promised to do the same. I could very well hide it. People forget there in a matter of seconds. Your past is painful and sad, my past is full of things I'm not too proud of. So why should I hide it?"

Emily gulped. "When you put it like that…"

Shinji chuckled. To Emily, it felt bitter. "Is there any other way to put it? Of course I wish I could just forget, but life doesn't work that way."

"I… don't pity you too much. You enjoyed it for a while and when you wanted to change things you did. Past is not real anymore and you shouldn't let it affect you." Emily sighed. "I won't judge you based on what you did, Shinji, but on what you will do from now on. And I will listen to you when you tell me what not to do there."

He avoided her eyes on him. "Thank you."

* * *

Emily smiled, running her hand over his cheek to force him to look at her. "Can you please get me some water?" Shinji raised an eyebrow at the randomness but complied nonetheless.

Emily watched him leave. She hadn't lied before. 'It's so weird. Almost impossible for him to do all that. Maybe he changed a lot. He can't have been so protective and caring before.' Shinji came back and helped her up.

"How do you feel?"

"Shitty."

"Can I open a window? It's past sunset."

Emily nodded. The cold air made her feel better. She saw the red moon and shivered.

"Cold?"

"No."

"Red moon?" Shinji asked. Emily nodded and he walked up to her, pulling her close. "Relax. Nothing bad can happen. You should just sleep for now."

"But… I'll have nightmares."

He kissed her forehead. "I won't leave."

Finally, she nodded, convinced.

* * *

~~~~~Somewhere in the woods~~~~

Four shadows ran across the trees, hurrying towards Sereitei. They stopped just in front of the big walls defending the Shinigami.

"Otou-san…" a male voice said shyly.

"What are you waiting for? Open!" another voice barked. Two shadows jumped to the top of the walls and the rest soon followed. They reached the barracks of the 5th Division and stopped once more. "Hmm…"

"Otou-san…" a woman began, being interrupted rudely.

"Nande?"

"There's a Taicho with her, in the same room."

"Tch. We need to wait for tomorrow then. I am not strong enough for that and neither are you kids."

"But… will we act during daylight?" a trembling boy asked.

"Yes! Got anything against it?"

"B-but… my abilities…"

"I don't give a shit! Can you kill a Taicho in an instant? No! So we'll wait and get Jyubi when the Shinigami is alone."

"Yes, Otou-san. Demo… what is our gain? You will get strong and stuff, but in our case…"

"You'll each get a tail. At full power, each tail is a Captain-level power boost."

"Then how are we supposed to defeat the owner of the **10** tails?"

"Jyubi doesn't give his full power to his Shinigami. She's a weak woman, unlike you, my daughter."

"Arigato, Otou-san. I will make sure to stay strong and be able to open the Hueco Mundo temple. Jyubi, the strongest Zanpakutou, will give us his power."


	8. Kidnnaped

"Hey, want me to wait for you?" Shinji asked. He was ready to go to work, unlike Emily.

"No, thanks, I'll just meet you there. I still need to get changed and eat something." She answered, undressing.

"Well, you don't seem to have a problem with me seeing you naked."

"Actually, I don't. I just don't want you to miss your job more than you already have, just because of me. So ii'll see you there."

Shinji pouted. "Bad things tend to happen when I leave you alone."

Emily smiled, quickly kissing him. "Nothing will go wrong. See you."

Shinji sighed, leaving. "Bye."

* * *

"Let's go, kids."

"Hai!" The four moved quickly, silently approaching their prey. She was arranging some clothes in the wardrobe, fully unconscious of the danger she was into. Until she sensed them in her room…

* * *

Blades clashed in a matter of seconds. "Who are you people?" She was looking at four people, a woman and three men from which one looked distinctively older. She didn't have time to analyze them for too long, though, as she soon felt throbbing pain all over her body. She dropped Jyubi and fell, screaming in agony. She soon passed out.

"Good job, my daughter." The Father said.

"You've destroyed her bond with her Zanpakutou! Wouldn't that kill her?" The Youngest said.

"She's too strong for that. Stupid kid." The Older said.

The woman's eyes widened. "We need to leave, now!"

The four disappeared along with their prey into a Garganta.

* * *

~~~~With Shinji, just after he left~~~~~

Well, how could I say no when she was oh-so-politely inviting me to get my ass to work for once in my life? I left as she had told me to and reached the office lazily. After a few minutes, though, her reiatsu spiked up dangerously and I Shunpoed to her room as quickly as possible. I was too late.

* * *

~~~~~Normal POV~~~~~

Shinji was surprised to find Emily-s room empty and undamaged. However, her wild reiatsu was still filling the air and he couldn't help but sense the Garganta. His friends appeared shortly after. Everything after happened in a blur. He went to HM with Kensei, Love and Rose. But in a huge and apparently inhabited desert, it was really hard to find anyone.

"We should give up. I don't sense shit." Kensei complained. Shinji didn't answer. It was so hopeless. He had no way to know that she was still alive, no way to know where she was, no guarantee whether he was going the right way.

"We can't. She's here, somewhere." Rose said. "We just need a piece of her Soul to lead us."

An imaginary light bulb lit in Shinji's mind. "What did you say, Rose?"

The other man seemed frazzled. "Um… I said we need to sense her."

"No, you said… a piece of her soul. Can you find someone using it?"

"Of course. It's one of my best skills." Sensing reiatsu had always been his talent and he was the best even among the other Captains.

Shinji sighed. "Just don't ask anything." The other two nodded and he allowed Rose to touch Emily's Soul Necklace. The two kept their promise and soon Rose opened his eyes and spoke.

"I don't know where you got this from, but it's really useful and full of her reiatsu. She's about three days from here in that direction." He said, pointing. They left immediately.

* * *

~~~~~With the kidnappers~~~~

"So… how much do we have left?" the Youngest asked.

"A week."

"Stupid woman, why couldn't you take us near the temple?" the Older inquired angrily.

"This was the closest I could. Also, I can't try again as I need to save energy. You two are useless anyway."

"WHAT?" the two boys yelled.

"SUHT THE FUCK UP YOU MORONS!" the Father yelled, causing the three to comply.

* * *

Unknown to them, his scream had also awakened the Senkai. Emily's eyes slowly opened and she looked around, easily recognizing her captors. She was tied and her handcuffs were absorbing her reiatsu. 'Jyubi?'

'_I'm so sorry. I can't lend you my power nor can I manifest to help you. It was that woman's doing. They are planning to take me away from you. However, they can't take Ying or Yang or Helen.'_

'How are they…'

'_There's a temple in HM where it is possible.'_

Emily was pulled out of her conversation by the woman who held her up by her hair, grinning devilishly.

"Long soft curly red hair? Emerald green eyes? Owner of Jyubi? You are one gifted bitch, you know that? I bet your parents are nobles and have raised you like a little princess. Am I right? You have no idea what true pain is, but I will make sure to show you while we travel." She said.

"Sis, you'll exhaust yourself." The Older pointed out coldly.

"You think I don't know that I'm _needed_?" she spat. "I won't use my reiatsu."

A loud cough interrupted them. "Don't kill her. Other than that, do as you like." The Father said.

Emily scanned the four people around her. There was the older looking, probably the other's father, and the older son, who looked just as cruel as his father, then the younger brother, whose face only held pity for her and sadness and, of course, the woman. She was a little more interesting than the others. She wasn't too ugly, but not particularly beautiful either. Her eyes held poison and hatred, even more than the others and her right eye was split by a scar. Like the other three her eyes were black, like her hair, which was jaw length, straight and messy. Emily wasn't sure whether she wasn't a little crazy. She was a pure sadist.

The black haired woman pulled her up and slapped her with her other hand. Emily closed her eyes, slowly drifting into her Inner World. Her refuge. Of course, when she came back all the pain she had endured came all at once, stealing all her sleep for the night. Her captors took turns in guarding. When the younger brother came, he offered her some food.

"No thanks. It's yours anyway."

"If you wanna survive, you should take it. You need to save your power."

"What do you mean?"

"Sis is gonna pull Jyubi out of you. You may even die."

Emily sighed. "This is not the first time I meet suffering, pain or death, you know. The description your sister gave to my life was hardly accurate."

"Care to explain?"

"Have you heard of the Senkais?" he nodded. "I'm Emerald."

"*chuckle* Well, that explains quite a lot, except for the fact that you were supposed to be dead."

"Yeah, I was. I found happiness instead."

"Good for you. I haven't. And I don't believe I ever will." Were his last words, before getting up and leaving her alone.


	9. New ally?

~~~~~4 days later~~~~

Emily had been travelling constantly and being beaten every day. However, there were hardly any wounds on her body, due to her incredible regeneration she hadn't lost with her Senkai powers. The Youngest had told her some info about his family, but not about their abilities. She had to give him a point for his fidelity.

* * *

Apparently, the Father was actually their parent. Their mother had been killed by Shinigami even though she had done nothing wrong. They were a very poor family and hated the nobles.

The Father was a very cruel man who only cared about power and used his children as tools. He was about Fuku-Taicho level and wanted to get strong via the easy way, using Jyubi.

His daughter was a blood thirsty hatred filled woman who only obeyed her Father and Older brother. Otherwise, she was pretty much like a Hollow. They said she had become like that when their mother died.

The Older brother was a very dark person. He was easily taken over by anger and was really loyal to his Father. He barely cared about his younger siblings, having completely inherited his Father's heart regarding them.

The Youngest sibling resembled his mother the most from what she got. Despite living with cruel people, he cared about others and his only resemblance to them was the fact that they hated each other. He pitied Emily for what his crazy sister was doing to her, but he had claimed he didn't love her. "Had you been a man, things wouldn't have been different." Were his words.

Emily was curious about their mother. She had seemed a good person, so she was probably set up. It was hard for Emily to imagine how a nice person could have such a husband and such children, but she didn't have to.

* * *

Coming back to present, the psycho sissy was preparing to hit her, when the Youngest stopped her. Her eyes widened in anger and she yelled, trying to hit him, which he easily blocked. 'Hakuda master!' she thought, shocked.

"Father!" she yelled. "The Youngest is disobeying my will."

"How dare you? Idiot! Know your place in this family." The Older said.

The Older lounged at him. The yYoungest easily dodged all his attacks and hit him with his knee in the stomach, bringing him on his knees. When the Sister attacked, he also sent her flying. So far, he was proving to be the best at hand-to-hand combat. However, the Father hit him with the back of his sword on his backhead, causing him to pass out. The elder also slashed his chest, leaving his unconscious son with a lethal wound.

"Let's go! Get up, pussies!"

Emily stared at him, shocked at his cruelty. "A-are you going to… just leave him there?"

He gave her an uninterested look. "Do you care that much? He's my son. I made him, I killed him. Do you see those two? Unlike him, they know this. You shouldn't care that much. Worry more about yourself. My daughter is pissed."

Emily held back her tears and complied. She didn't cry from pain. She cried from the loss of a friend, her only comfort in those dark days. Her mid then travelled back to the one she loved more than anything, the one that was surely searching for her. 'Shinji, where are you?'

* * *

~~~~~About a few hours later, same place~~~~

"Guys, fuckin hurry! We're going to be late!" Shinji yelled.

Kensei got angry. "What the fuck? Is it my fault that you are _so _hurried to save your girlfriend? Give me a break already! I won't deny it, I am worried, but if we reach them exhausted and get ourselves nicely killed, then there's no point in going!"

Rose ignored his friends, having sensed a vanishing reiatsu right in front of them. The other two followed him and killed the Hollows surrounding the corpse-to-be. They healed him together and waited for the man to wake up.

* * *

The Youngest woke up. 'Am I dead? Ah, my head hurts, so I'm alive. Where am I?' When he had attacked his sister, he was expecting to be killed, so he was probably saved by some strangers. But what good did they do? He now had no life, he couldn't go back and he didn't know what to do on his own.

Splash!

* * *

He was brought back to life by someone who threw cold water on his face.

"Oi, Kensei, you shouldn't have done that! Look, now he's all wet! He may even catch a cold."

"Shut up, Rose! You're not my boss!"

"And you're not mine! I was just giving advice!"

"It sounded like an order!"

"Like hell it did!"

The Youngest watched the two men argue like children. He couldn't help but be reminded of his siblings. So he was expecting them to start fighting, which, surprisingly enough, they didn't.

"BOTH OF YOU SHUT IT!" a third voice boomed, covering their arguments. "Listen, I am not in the mood for your bitching so end it here and now! You woke the kid, now hear him out! Maybe he knows something about Emmalin."

The Youngest scanned the 3rd speaker. 'Long blonde hair. Impossible!'

* * *

~~~~~Flashback~~~~~

The Youngest burst out laughing. "That's emasculating!"

Emily chuckled. "I thought so as well, but when you see him, you realize it's not."

"No really? Long hair? Waist length? That's longer than yours!"

Emily giggled. "Fine, you're right. But don't make the mistake to tell him what you really think."

"Oh, he's the Taicho you were with!"

"Yep!"

~~~~~~End of Flashback~~~~

* * *

"So, kiddo, tell us how you got that." Kensei said.

Rose rolled his eyes. "You're freaking him out with that grin."

Do I really need to tell you what happened after? No? Okay, here's the result.

Shinji stood in front of the Youngest, watching him intently. Kensei and Rose were 'sleeping.' The Youngest shuddered. 'Creepy.'

"So, who are you?" Shinji asked calmly.

The Youngest shifted uncomfortably. "I am… one of your girlfriend's kidnappers." He had to give the other man some points for staying impassive, but something told him that he was boiling on the inside.

"How did you get here?"

"I… attacked my Sister when she tried to hit Emily again." Shinji flinched, his eyes widening. "The Older attacked me then, but I'm stronger than him or Sis, even though I'm the Youngest. But Father hit me and I passed out."

Shinji sighed, slowly closing his eyes in guilt. "How is she?"

"She was fine before I left, Hirako-san. We would talk at night. She only told me good things about you."

Shinji smiled. "What are these guys planning to do?"

The Youngest hesitated a little. "They want to steal Jyubi and share him amongst themselves."

"Damn. We want to take Emily back."

"I will help you."

"Thank you. This will be mentioned should you decide to return to Sereitei with us. For now, rest. It's an order."

The Youngest bowed and went to sleep. He was trying to consider his options and Shinji's proposal was really tempting.


	10. The beggining of the fight

The next morning, Emily woke up alone. It was so difficult for her to understand the indifference the three other appeared to feel. The Sister woke her up like usual, kicking her stomach. The Father was hurrying them like usual. The Older was just guarding her, apparently bored. 'How can… how can they not care about him? He was their sibling and their father killed him! How can they be so heartless?' She didn't have time for meditation, though. She was hurried along the road to her death.

* * *

~~~~With the others~~~~~

Shinji woke up with a start. He was panting hardly as he tried to erase his nightmare from his mind. 'She's gonna be fine. We'll save her and things will be like before. She's fine.'

"Hey, guys, wake up!" he yelled, apparently full of confidence.

"WTF? Lemme sleep, asshole!" Kensei cursed. Rose, on the other hand, was more compliant and got up with the Youngest. The two ate something while Kensei and Shinji argued. In the end, they set off.

* * *

"So, kid, how strong are you?" Kensei asked. The Youngest shrugged.

"I don't know. I've mastered Shunpo, but I'm not a Shinigami because I don't have a Zanpakutou."

"What?" Rose asked, apparently shocked.

"Father took it from me. He gave me its abilities, and then destroyed it."

The other three stared at him, dumbstruck. Shinji was the first to return to the real world. "So cruel…" he said.

"Well, he did that with all our Zanpakutous, so it's not that bad."

"What's your name, anyway?" Rose asked, changing topic.

"The Youngest."

"He asked your name, not age." Kensei tried.

"No, I don't have a name. This is how they called me."

"Well, you're gonna need a name later."

"Yeah, probably."

* * *

~~~~~~With the kidnappers~~~~~

Emily saw a temple in the distance. It was huge and looked ruined. The Father ordered them to rest and start their job the next day. When they fell asleep she could finally focus on her thoughts. 'They are really going to do it. They are going to take Jyubi. I've been unable to hear him for two days. I feel so lonely, caught amongst these cruel people. I… is there any reason for me to keep going?' For the first time since she had returned to Sereitei she let desperation surround her. She didn't need to hide her tears. No one could see her. She fell asleep crying.

When she woke up the next day the others led her into the temple. They placed her in the middle of the huge room and the Sister started chanting. Emily screamed in agony. The pain was similar to what she had felt the first time, only stronger. _'Order me something illegal! That way we'll break the contract and you'll survive! Order!'_ She could barely hear Jyubi. She could barely think. 'Revive my brothers! Now! Obey or leave!'

The others only saw a huge yellow light.

"Yeah, it's happening!" the Father yelled. "Give him to me!"

* * *

~~~~~~The rescue party~~~~

The four saw a huge yellow light shot up from the temple in front of them. The Youngest started trembling. "It's starting… we gotta hurry!" He noticed the others already sped up and followed them, Shinji quickly gaining distance. The Youngest sped up, being the first to reach the temple and leaving the three shocked Captains behind.

* * *

~~~~~Emily's POV~~~~

I was… so useless. My body felt numb and hurt. I was lying down on the ground, listening to their voices.

"Now, Jyubi, gimme your power!"

"You mean a contract?" He was so calm, so cold, so uncaring!

"What? Yeah, a contract."

"Which would your first order be, Master? It can be anything…"

"Gimme all your power without limiters!"

"But…"

"No buts! Do it!"

"*sigh* Yes, Master."

* * *

I heard a loud roar and the insane laughter of the Father. Jyubi's reiatsu came all at once, the waves making me almost unable to breathe. It felt so different, so foreign! My eyes opened slightly and I realized I was doomed. Jyubi was right behind the Father, in his real form. It was a huge yellow wolf with 10 tails, whose red eyes were glaring at me, blood-thirsty.

"Otou-san!"

"Yeah, yeah, have your share."

Jyubi screamed as two of his tails vanished and the two siblings smiled, their reiatsus getting stronger.

I was nearly crushed under the huge reiatsu and it all felt hopeless. I was alone, there wasn't anybody to come and tell me to get up. **"Selfish much? Get up and fight! You are not alone; you still have Ying and Yang so it's not hopeless."** Helen's words rang in my mind. Even if they hadn't been a good motivation, the Youngest appeared and attacked the Father. I sat up, my eyes widening. He appeared right next to me, smiling.

"How…" I couldn't form any words. I was so happy to see him alive!

He smiled. "Your friends saved me. They'll be here soon."

"They'll find you dead!" the Father yelled. Eight tails came towards us, all at once. The Youngest cut four of them and quickly took me away, in a corner. That was his mistake. The tails regenerated and followed us. His grip on his sword tightened. Before either of us could react, the tails were blocked, a white haori coming into view, the kanji for 5 on the back.

* * *

"Shinji…"

"Get somewhere safe. I'll distract him." He said. I didn't move.

"Come on. This is not the time for a dramatic meeting." The Youngest told me.

* * *

Unfortunately, his siblings blocked our way. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Did you forget about us?"

The Youngest stared at them unimpressed. "I can easily defeat you."

"Really? We got our share, unlike you."

Then blades clashed. The fight was neutral, neither of us taking the upper hand. I was slammed into the walls by the woman, creating a huge hole in it. I tried to get up before she got me. As she jumped in my direction a gold whip caught her. The Older was blown off by sharp wind, gaining some cuts in the process. There, right behind me, stood Rose and Kensei, already using their Shikais. It was my first time seeing them and they were pretty impressive. I didn't have time to contemplate them, though.

"Help Shinji." Kensei ordered. "The asshole got the strongest one… again."

"We'll take care of these guys." Rose finished.

* * *

I looked around to see Shinji barely holding is ground against the tails. I joined the Youngest shunpoing towards him. We sliced the tails in range, sitting on either side on Shinji. "We are here to help."

He smiled. "Well now, how can I say no to such a tempting offer? _Collapse, Sakanade_"

"_Show your power, twins of Ying and Yang_!"


	11. The fight

Kensei stared at the man facing him. He tried to understand his ability, but was unable to do so just by staring at him. He failed to notice a key detail: there were many shadows in the temple. He only realized it when a black spear emerged from a shadow and attacked him. He easily dodged and lounged at his enemy, no longer wasting time. The Older vanished in the shadows. "This is my ability. I live in the shadows. I kill with them. And you are my victim." Kensei realized that he needed a plan. Otherwise he was doomed. "Bankai." His Bankai easily cut through the shadows and found the Older's hiding place. However, the man laughed when he saw Kensei coming towards him.

"Gotcha, idiot."

"What? Fuck!"

Kensei realized the shadows surrounded him and he got trapped. He was held by his arms and legs. His mouth was covered so he couldn't warn his friend… "What the…" Rose soon joined him. The woman came to her brother.

"What did you do that for? I could so well handle him!"

"Now you can get to play with both. I have no interest in killing them."

The woman's eyes lit up. She licked her blade. The two Taichos were disgusted by the look in her eyes. "I'm gonna have fun…" she whispered, tilting her head to the side. Her eyes were filled with bloodlust, her whole body shaking. She licked her lips anxiously.

"Weird one you got, Rose."

"*gulp*"

They slowly felt her cut, savoring the blood covering her body. Unfortunately, no attempt of escape succeeded. Then they didn't feel the restrains anymore.

Kensei stood up, shocked. The Youngest was facing his Sister, a cold look of hatred obvious on his face.

"Emily and Hirako-san can do without me for a while." He explained.

The Youngest disappeared, leaving the two men against a woman. The situation would have been embarrassing if they hadn't known she was nuts. They lounged at her, determined to end it quick.

* * *

The Youngest easily found his brother, who held a look of pure anger on his face.

"You! Did you revive yourself just to haunt me?"

"No." the other one answered coldly. "Had I wanted to torture you, I would have killed you directly. Like I'm about to."

The Older laughed maniacally. "Do you think you can defeat me? I'm stronger than you can understand now! I'm a Captain-level!"

"So I have been labeled. My life was saved by three Captains. When they tested my strength, they told me I am one. Now I'm gonna find out whether they lied or spoke the truth."

The Youngest left his brother no time to answer. He quickly lounged at him, slashing him across his chest. The Older retreated in the shadows. However, the Youngest easily dodged his attacks. "Don't you get it? I know your fighting style! The only reason you were winning earlier was that Muguruma-san doesn't know you! You're…" he caught his sibling's arm and held him in a chocking position. "predictable." He stabbed his brother in the chest, dropping the corpse.

Rose and Kensei were facing a mad woman. They had known that. It was just that they didn't expect her to be that fast. She appeared just to attack them and her slashes were completely random. They barely had time to block. They split and when she attacked Rose, Kensei used the wind to slice across her legs. She slowed down and the easily got her. Te two fell on the floor panting, their wounds still bleeding. "Well, we did our part."

"Now it's all up to you guys."

The Youngest nodded and vanished to help the others.

* * *

Emily and Shinji had been fighting together against the Father. Unlike Shinji, Emily had difficulties in constantly defending herself against the tails. Shinji shunpoed them in a temporary safe area. Emily immediately noted that he was panting tiredly. "Take care of yourself. You never fought him before, unlike me. You've sent these tails after me many times."

It all happened quickly afterwards. The tails found them, breaking the wall and throwing them outside. The Youngest appeared beside them. He had a look of pure hatred and his reiatsu was spinning.

"You are such a coward, Father" he spat "you send the tails after us but don't wanna dirty your weak hands. Come and get me! Make me suffer by your own hands!"

Emily's eyes widened when the man came outside, reiatsu pouring off him in waves. He was holding Jyubi in his Shikai form, she could only hope he didn't know Bankai or was too vain for it. He lounged at them, Shinji and the Youngest easily holding him back. Their blades clashed many times and all Emily could do was watch. 'Helen…'

'**I'm ready.'**

She summoned her hollow mask, joining her friends against the 10 tails. However, the Father was strong. He pushed them away in different sides around him. Emily started charging a Cero. The Youngest started to draw back, while the Father's eyes widened. Shinji activated his Shikai, hoping to distract the old man. The Cero hit its target full force, causing a large explosion. They hoped it was enough. However, a tail emerged from the dust and grabbed Shinji. The target had actually been Emily, but they were staying in completely opposite sides of the Father. He pulled the Captain closer, watching him full of hatred. "I could very well kill you quickly, but that would be no fun. I shall see the negative effects of Jyubi's reiatsu on an enemy." He stabbed Shinji in the chest, right near his heart, then shunpoed away to fight the other two.

* * *

~~~~Shinji's POV~~~~~

His words were haunting my mind as I tried to stand up. _'Don't!'_ Sakanade cried. _'Please don't! You can really die if you try to fight. H-have faith in them…'_ I could tell she was scared, I was as well, but I tried to control my reactions. I was starting to feel dizzy, my entire body hurting. The pain had started in my chest, right where the bastard had stabbed me, but quickly spread. I coughed some blood and fell on my knees, my arms resting on Sakanade's hilt. I watched the fight as long as I could. It soon hit me. The Father's body wasn't strong enough for Jyubi's full strength, so he was slowly being hurt by the reiatsu. The others had noticed as well, their attacks were getting more offensive than initially. The last thing I remember was that Jyubi screamed when the Youngest sliced the Father's head off. As I passed out I could hear Emmalin screaming my name.


	12. The end of the fight and the return home

Emily watched as the Youngest easily overpowered his weakened Father and killed him. Jyubi stood there, watching them in his human form, while Emily ran towards her lover. "Shinji! Please, please don't die!" She kneeled beside his unconscious form, crying, her incapacity weighting on her shoulders for the first time since losing her power. "Please!"

* * *

The Youngest walked up to Jyubi.

"You can save him, right?"

"*sigh* Yes, but I need a powerful master to order me to. Emmalin is no longer my master and since she broke the contract I can't return to her."

"Then, what if I became your master?"

"That'll do. I shall initiate the contract. What shall your first order be? It can be anything, limitless."

"I want you to give me all your knowledge, of past, present and future, of secrets and forbidden techniques and abilities and everything else you know, with no exceptions."

"It shall be done."

* * *

A huge light engulfed the two. Emily watched as the Youngest came out holding a sheathed Jyubi. He walked up to Shinji and placed the sword on his chest.

"It shall be all right. Jyubi told me how to heal him."

Emily nodded. The Youngest summoned Jyubi's reiatsu and skillfully used it to heal the physical wound and remove most of the foreign reiatsu from Shinji's body. As soon as he was done, they noticed that the Captain was starting to recover.

"I'm going to heal the others." The Youngest said, leaving.

* * *

Emily noticed that Shinji was starting to regain consciousness. She felt her eyes tear up once more. He had become so important to her! She was pretty sure that his death would kill her.

"Shinji! I was so worried!" Emily held him tight, arms around his neck as Shinji tried to rise. His confusion cleared in a second. He placed an arm around her waist, patting her reassuringly.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm fine." He felt her tears as she pressed her face closer into his neck.

"Baka, don't ever scare me like that again. I thought you were going to die! I…"

"Shh, relax. I'm alright. No need for you to cry anymore, okay?" She nodded while he got up. Emily pulled back a little and Shinji wiped her tears. "Sorry I got you so worried."

Emily pouted. "Well, you're gonna have to apologize better later."

Shinji smirked. "See? That's better. I hate seeing you cry, love."

* * *

Kensei and Rose soon joined them. Their wounds had been minor, so they were fully healed. The Youngest opened them a Garganta to Soul Society, near Sereitei.

"I'm not coming with you. Sorry."

"What? Why not?" Emily asked.

"I… have a different life reserved. Jyubi gave me the right to look into my future and… I don't belong there."

"Why? You proved to be really helpful…" Kensei started.

"I will be from now on as well. I will be there when you need me. No worries about that."

Shinji sighed. "You're a stubborn one, you know that? Well, I guess we can't force you to come with us. You choose what you like."

The Youngest nodded. "Oh, and my name from now will be Daisuke. See you all soon."

As he shunpoed, they couldn't help but wonder whether he really meant it or was just a greeting.

* * *

"Let's go. Someone has a date with Unohana, _cheater_." Kensei said jokingly. He was supporting Shinji, who was still weakened.

Shinji pouted. "Gimme a break, asshole! Remember, I fought the strongest enemy, again!"

"Doesn't count! You weren't alone!"

"So? It does!"

"No, it doesn't!"

"Yes, it does!"

"No, it doesn't!"

…

Emily sweat dropped while the two still argued. She walked up to Rose, curious about their argument.

"What's the deal?"

"Huh? Oh! The made a competition. Who can defeat more enemy leaders in 20 years wins the other as a slave for 1 year. It's been 4 years."

Emily started laughing. "Who's leading?"

"Shinji has… 5 and Kensei 3."

"Hahahahahahahaha!"

"They made this competition after 5 bottles of sake."

"Just 5?"

"Yeah, after 6 they can hardly remember what they did. They did many stupid things and don't remember."

Emily chuckled.

They entered the 4th Division and found Unohana, who told Shinji that he would have to stay in hospital for a while.

* * *

~~~~~~~~Several days later~~~~~~

Emily entered a hospital room in the 4th Division. She was greeted by a bored-looking Shinji who was lounged on the white hospital bed. "Hey."

Shinji turned around, having just noticed her. "Hey, how are you? Hopefully better than me."

"Yes, actually. Why are you still here?"

"Unohana said I need to rest. She thinks it will take a while until Jyubi's reiatsu will be fully gone, if it will ever be."

"Hm…"

"What?"

"I don't like this. Do you feel sick or anything?"

"No. I feel fine."

"See? It's weird. If you're fine, why can't you leave this room?"

Shinji shrugged. "Dunno, don't care. Free holiday actually. Changing topic," he shunpoed near Emily, embracing her, "did you bring what I asked you to?"

Emily rolled her eyes, pulling a sake bottle from her shikkasho. "Lock the door."

Shinji pressed his hand on the wall and a thin reiatsu line appeared on the walls, going round in the room. "Done." Emily gave him the bottle and he opened it, taking a quick sip. "Want some?"

She shrugged. "Nah, I don't have a drinking problem, unlike you."

He pouted. "I don't either. I'm just bored." He took another sip. "Besides, you only don't drink because you're afraid. You can't hold your liquor well." Shinji added smiling.

"Like fuck I can't! Here, I'll show you." She added, taking the bottle from his hand.

"Hey, that's mine!" Shinji lounged to get the bottle and they snuggled around like little kids until he came victorious. He was sitting on top of Emily, straddling her hips and grinning victoriously. She struggled to release her arms, but he held both her wrists above her head with one hand.

"Tch. Let go!" she yelled, still struggling.

"No." Shinji finished the bottle, but didn't move. Emily stared at him for a while, then an idea struck her.

He was looking down at her, curious to see what her mind could come up with. She smiled seductively, slowly licking her lips. Shinji raised an eyebrow, still confused, until he felt her tail…

* * *

~~~~Somewhere outside Sereitei~~~~~

Daisuke walked around a mountain, searching for any cave he could sleep in. 'There is one close…' He felt as if he had lived there his entire life. He had to find a safe place, where he could sleep for a week so his order would be granted. He didn't know everything Jyubi did. His knowledge was so vast that a week would barely be enough for everything to settle, but he had to find an isolated place. He finally did. Entering the cave, he found himself a nice position to sleep and went into Jinzen.

'Jyubi, before we start, I have a question: what was her wish?'

'_Happiness. She wants to spend a life with the one she loves and be happy.'_

'Oh, really? That's nice... Now give it to me. Start with the past.'

'_Yes, master.'_

* * *

**A/N: In the hospital room, they are doing M-rated stuff. Since this isn't an M-rated fan fiction, the scene was erased. (Also because I'm so NOT writing that sort of stuff.)**_  
_


	13. The morning after

~~~~~Next morning~~~~~

Shinji was the first to wake up. His eyes scanned the room around him, stopping on the girl sleeping next to him. Memories started flooding in, his grin widening. He was still getting used to the idea of his little innocent… well, not that innocent now… Emily acting the way she did. However, that didn't make him love her any less. She was just as cute as always, even when she was asleep, with her hair messy from last night's activities. He was content with watching her sleeping form while he could. Of course, happy moments don't last forever. He had completely forgotten about the alarm clock. I mean, honestly, are hospital rooms supposed to have alarm clocks? His lack of luck was that it was on her side on bed…

* * *

~~~~~Emily's POV~~~~~

I was rather unceremoniously woken up by a hell machine we call alarm clock. The first thing that hit me was that I didn't recognize the alarm. The second came after I had turned the clock off and it was the fact that I was naked. And that's when memories flood in. 'Oh, shit.'

'**AHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAH! OMG, I don't believe this! Why did I just have to go to sleep earlier?'**

I flinched at Helen's words. She was nothing but a bitch! However, I had more important matters at hand. For example, Shinji was waiting for some sort of reaction from me and I was spacing out. I scanned him a little, blushing when I realized he was just as dressed as I was. "Morning, beautiful." He said, smiling, amused at my embarrassment. I felt my cheeks heat up even more, to think that I would… gah! Shinji seemed to be reading my mind, his look becoming concerned. "Emily, talk to me." I looked him in the eyes, completely unaware of what I could say. I knew that if I tried to talk, no words would come out anyway. He sighed. "Do you regret it?" I automatically shook my head in denial.

"No, I just… can't believe I acted that way."

He chuckled, looking somewhat relieved from my answer. "That makes two of us." He said, kissing me. I put my hand behind his head, pulling him closer. Our lips parted at the same time and we met halfway through. And… of course we were interrupted. We heard several voices on the hall, nearing our room. "Shit." Shinji whispered. He checked to see whether the seal he had put was still in place and luckily for us it was. "Go in the bathroom!" I shunpoed in the bathroom, grabbing my clothes on my way. My eyes widened.

'Oh, no, please no!'

'**What?'**

'_He's here!'_

'Mayuri. With Urahara and Hiyori.'

I got changed slowly, hoping they would have left by the time I got out. As if.

* * *

~~~~~~~Normal POV~~~~~~

"So, Hirako-san, you can go home now."

"Oh, that's good news. But, honestly now, did you all need to come here just to tell me that?" Shinji asked, eyeing Mayuri and Hiyori, ready to be attacked any moment.

"I was happening to be nearby. Do you really think I would go out of my important research for some inferior creature like you?" Mayuri said, cranky as always.

"Honestly, I don't think there is anyone you don't consider inferior."

Before Mayuri could retort anything, the bathroom door opened, revealing Emmalin. She was wearing her hair down and her uniform was perfectly arranged.

"Good morning everyone!" she said. Urahara stared.

Mayuri's eyes widened. He recognized her immediately."You!"

Emily palled slightly. She maintained her composure however. "Is there anything the matter, Kurotsuchi-san?"

He scanned her, not saying anything. However, Urahara noticed the tension. "Do you two know each other?"

"No." Emily answered coldly. "I have never seen this man in my life."

"Hmph, why would I know this woman?" Mayuri asked in his normal outraged tone.

"However, are you ready to leave this place, Hirako-san?" Urahara asked. Shinji shrugged.

"Say something, baldy!" Hiyori said, hitting him. Emily sweat dropped when the two began to argue like usual.

"So, Niagra-san, can I ask you why you were kidnapped?" Urahara asked.

Emily palled. "They wanted… something from me. Jyubi."

"The legendary contractor zanpakutou?"

"Yeah…"

"How?"

"I don't remember. I got him a long time ago and he was somehow getting along with my other zanpakutous. But now he's gone."

"Wait, wait, wait, zanpakutou_**s**_?"

"Yeah, Yin and Yang."

"Oh…"

"Urahara-san, we need to leave. There's an experiment…" Mayuri started, apparently annoyed by the waste of time.

"Sure, sure, see you guys!" Urahara left, with Hiyori and Mayuri.

* * *

'_Expect some Yoruichi moments later.'_ Yin warned.

'Why?'

'_Urahara figured… you know… that you did it.'_

"WHAT?" Emily yelled unconsciously. She was in Shinji's room and he was staring at her, utterly and completely confused. She shrieked. "Gomen."

"Where did that come from?"

"Yin." Shinji was waiting for the details and after reluctant pause, Emily continued, blushing. "He said… that Urahara figured that… you know…" Her blush intensified.

Shinji's eyes widened. "Really?" Emily nodded and he started laughing. "That's… well… bad. In a few hours everyone will know."

Emily's eyes widened. "Everyone?"

"Yep. Do you regret it?" he asked, giving her the most serious look she had ever seen coming from him.

"That I finally mustered enough courage for _that_ or that it's gonna be tonight's gossip?"

Shinji shrugged. "Both. But the first is by far more important." He held her hand in his, looking at her, concern filling his eyes. He hadn't been too convinced in the hospital room. He wanted her to repeat what she said and be sure about her choice.

"No, I don't regret it. I just regret that Yoruichi is going to ask me a lot of stuff when I meet her."

"We still have time to kill Urahara."

"Let's go! What are you waiting for?" Emily jumped up, but Shinji held her down, setting her on his lap.

* * *

"Relax." He whispered in her neck.

She sighed. "Fine. But… there's something I need to do these days."

He kissed her neck, slowly travelling south. "What?"

"I… need to… talk to Mayuri… in private."

"When?"

"Now… it would be a very good time." She hissed when he started sucking right in the crook of her neck. Emily pulled Shinji back by his hair and kissed him fully.

"It wouldn't." he whispered against her lips.

"Yes, it would. Can you please help me?" she asked between kisses. Shinji pushed her onto the bed, against the mattress, straddling her hips. Emily pushed him away just as he went for her neck once more. "Hey, focus." She said. He glared at her, a little annoyed. "Listen, I wanna talk to him and figure why he didn't tell Urahara who I am, okay? I'm worried."

Shinji sighed, getting up. "Fine. I suppose I can't let Urahara know about this. I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks. And don't be so cranky." Emily said with puppy eyes. "I'll make up for it later." She added, kissing him lightly.

Shinji rolled his eyes and sat up, sending Urahara a Hell Butterfly.


	14. Conflict

"So, what did you want?" Mayuri asked, apparently annoyed with Emily's presence in his lab. They were alone.

"Why didn't you blow my cover?"

He shrugged. "I have no interest in you anymore. I don't occupy my time with failures."

"F…failure?" Emily asked, shocked.

"Yes, that's what you are. A useless failure. You know, my purpose was to create weapons. You are a useless life form. Even those that are dead now were better. I was supposed to kill your personality. Your brothers were quite good, but you… you were a failure! Even now, you still harvest those useless _feelings_. You are useless and you were just like a disease, slowly infecting my best results. You are the reason they started to develop _feelings_ and no longer obeyed..."

"URUSAI! I was the strongest!"

"I have been trying to figure the reason for that ever since. You are an anomaly, that is the only logical explanation. If you had abandoned those _feelings _of yours, you would have been the strongest Shinigami ever, only rivaling the Soul King."

"Am I not that already?"

"No, because you gave it up."

Emily palled, taking a few staggered steps back. 'He knows? H-how?'

"I haven't given anything up! What makes you say that?"

Mayuri looked at her uninterested. "Your reiatsu level is quite low. When I came here it was higher, but after a few months something happened and you lost it. I honestly don't care what. I'm more interested in that creature you have in your Inner World, the source of those Hollow-like powers of yours. Would you mind showing me?"

Emily was trembling slightly, pale and feeling weak. 'It was a mistake… it was a mistake! I shouldn't have come here!'

'**How about you fix it? Summon the mask, kill him and cover the whole thing, saying it was self-defense. Who would doubt it? The guy just escaped from the Maggots Nest, for goodness sake!'**

'No! I can't! If I do that I'd be just like him!'

"What are you talking about? Hollow powers, honestly? Is that even possible?"

Mayuri grinned. "It's not. That is the reason why I want to study you. You are an anomaly, as I've said. If you don't want to show me, no problem, I'll make you!"

* * *

He shunpoed right behind Emily, holding his sword at her neck. 'When did he get Shinigami abilities?' She was trembling, unable to move. She was sure that it had all been a horrible mistake. She shouldn't have thought that he had changed at all, she had just had a little more courage than usual, but now it was gone. Facing him, the one who had treated her worse than a guinea pig, was quickly killing all the confidence she had gathered over the time. He was her worst fear, her worst nightmare. 'How could I ever think I could face him alone?' She deeply regretted not bringing Shinji or anyone else with her. The blade was slowly nearing her skin, making her feel useless. She couldn't move and she could barely think, being frozen in fear.

* * *

"Oi, Kurotsuchi-san, that is rather unpolite~!" Urahara said. Despite the easygoing tone, his face was very serious, almost angry.

"Hmph, does it matter?" the madman asked irritated with the interruption. He felt a strong reiatsu near him, filed with killing intent. A blade was nearing his arms.

"**If you don't let go, I'm gonna murder you so painful you'll wonder how come you never knew of this method**." Shinji said threateningly.

Mayuri sheathed his sword and left. Emily fell on her knees, but Shinji caught her. She closed her eyes, sobbing quietly, while her face was buried in the crook of his neck. He rubbed her back slowly, waiting for her to calm down.

* * *

~~~~~~Urahara's POV~~~~~

I watched Hirako hold Niagra-san gently. He sighed and looked at me for support. I led him to my room where they both sat on my bed. I couldn't help but scan them carefully. She had her arms around his neck and I could see them shaking slightly. Hirako-san was staying with his back towards me, so I couldn't know what he was saying. I only heard that he was whispering something to her in a gentle voice. Her sobbing was slowly calming. I figured Mayuri had scarred her. I watched her smooth red hair mix with my friend's blonde. While she used the silence moments to calm down, I used them to think about what I had heard. She used to be strong, but she had lost her power… she now has hollow powers… who is she? Just when I had solved the riddle, she looked at me with those Emerald green eyes. My first thought was that I completely understood why Hirako-san is heads-over-heels for her. My second thought was that we were all morons. I mean, honestly, nobody could see that she looks exactly like Senkai no Emerald (or anyway, as she was described)? And that alone was enough to raise questions…

* * *

~~~~Normal POV~~~~

When Emily calmed down, she noticed that she was being held by Shinji, with Urahara watching them. She knew that look on his face. He wanted answers. She gulped. "You told him?" she whispered so he couldn't hear her.

"No. But if you want to, I will."

Emily nodded, pulling back a little so she could look into Urahara's eyes. She gulped, knowing no lie was good enough.

"Urahara-san… I think you may want some explanations."

"That would be useful, Emerald Senkai-sama." Shinji's eyes widened.

"Don't call me like that! It's just a nickname." Emily complained.

"Ah, gomen, gomen~! I thought that you had chosen it."

"No I haven't. Do you have any questions to ask? And before we start, I would like you to know that this is a secret. No telling anyone, even if they seem to know." Urahara eyed Shinji questioningly.

"This is not a chit-chat subject." The other man said. Kisuke nodded.

"Okay, then. Mayuri said something about… Hollow-like powers? May I see them? Not here, of course, in the training ground."

Emily sighed and summoned her mask. Urahara's eyes widened. "**Happy**?" He nodded, slightly scared by the dark power. Emmalin explained Urahara everything, from her brothers' death, to the loss of her power and Helen and even Jyubi. He promised to keep the secret.

* * *

Emily went home with Shinji. She lounged on her bed, next to him. "How did you know?"

"How did I know what?"

"That I couldn't do it alone. That he would freak me out."

Shinji smiled, playing with her red hair. "Easy. I know you. And Urahara said that it's not safe to leave anyone alone with the freak." He leaned in, kissing her. Emily smiled against his lips, settled for once.

"So it's Kisuke's credit."

Shinji chuckled. "Yeah, mostly."

"Too bad. However, I still owe you one for being there. And I promised we'd finish something…" Emily said with a neutral tone.

Shinji, however, was boiling with impatience. He straddled her hips, looking down at her. "What about… now?"

Emily smirked at his behavior. She pulled him down to kiss his neck, then went upwards to his ear. "Fine." She whispered seductively, sending electric jolts through his whole body.

* * *

**A/N: The word 'feelings' is empathized because Mayuri spits it in disgust.**


	15. Gossip and Negotiation

~~~Next day~~~~

Emily and Shinji casually entered the office, greeting Yuki and Naoki as usual. The other two were acting normally, until…

"So… Emily-chan, did you enjoy it?" Yuki asked innocently.

Emily blushed crimson red. "W-what are you talking about, Yuki-chan?"

Naoki raised an eyebrow, apparently interested in the topic. He glanced at his Captain, whose face was also red, though not as much as Emily's. "Do we have to spell it for you, Niagra-san? Urahara-Taiho said…"

"We both know what he said, geez!" Shinji interfered. "He really needs to learn to keep his goddamn mouth shut."

"Oh, but that wouldn't be any fun, would it?" Naoki said. **(A/N: Can you imagine someone saying that in a neutral tone? If you can, then that's Naoki.)**

"'Course, not. For you it wouldn't be any fun, considering you don't get any." Shinji retorted, smiling.

Yuki blushed. Naoki glared. "You're going off topic."

'**Gwahaha! He didn't deny it!'**

"Best way to avoid admitting your defeat is switching topic." Emily said. "Anyway, that's girl gossip, why did you ask me this while the guys were here, Yuki-chan? I would've answered had we been in private."

Yuki avoided all eyes on her, completely embarrassed. "I was impatient. Gomen."

* * *

Emily sighed. They all went back to work, of course thinking about the unsaid answer.

'Will Shinji find it offensive if I don't answer?' Emily thought.

'**Nah, he knows you too well for that. Besides, his ego could use a little deflating…'**

'_I know I would.'_ Yin said.

'_Although he may not, it would be a very good surprise if you answered that you did.'_ Yang answered, thoughtful as always.

Emily sweat dropped. 'Thanks. Three persons three answers.' The inhabitants of her Inner World started laughing. Her attention then drifted to all the papers she had to do and her reiatsu rose.

"WHO THE FUCK GAVE ME ALL THE BUDGET REPORTS?"

* * *

Later that day, they all left the office. "You know, I've heard about some mission in Hueco Mundo, Taicho. Can I…"

"No. It's at least for a 3rd Seat, though Vice-Captain is strongly recommended." Shinji said, cutting Yuki.

"Oh, I see…" she said, feeling rejected.

"Ah, don't worry, Yuki-chan, there will be more missions in the future." Emily said, trying to cheer up the blonde. "Anyway, see you two tomorrow. Oh, and btw, the answer is definitely yes." She finished, dragging along a shocked Shinji. The other two stared at her back, dumbstruck.

* * *

"That was a real surprise back there." Shinji said, throwing is haori on a nearby chair.

Emily giggled. "You should be more careful with that. Andrew was scolded by the old man for taking it off in public (and throwing it away like trash, but whatever). And, well, surprises are good every once in a while, right?"

Shinji sat down next to her, smiling. "Of course. I just regret I couldn't take a picture of their faces."

Emily laughed. "Course you do."

He pulled her on his lap, his eyes locked with hers. Their lips met moments later as his hands buried in her long soft hair. She parted her lips, granting him entrance immediately. He moaned when she pushed him onto the bed, straddling his hips. Her tongue snaked skillfully around his and she entered his mouth, slightly smiling into the kiss, while he gladly allowed her to explore the crevices. Her hands slid under his shikkasho, caressing his chest, making him groan loudly. And… of course they were interrupted. Yoruichi burst in, ignoring a small detail: they were in Shinji's room.

"Emily! My Emily finally did it! I can't believe this! Is it true?" the female Taicho started shaking Emily, who looked slightly dizzy.

"Yo… ru… ichi…san… let… go… please…"

"What?" She asked, stopping.

"Thank you."

"Umm, Yoruichi, can you knock every once in a while when you enter my room?" Shinji asked, annoyed with the interruption, while rearranging his shikkasho.

"Ah… gomen, I hope I didn't interrupt anything important."

Emily stared at Yoruichi dumbstruck. 'She practically ripped me off Shinji and she asks whether she interrupted anything?'

"How could you be so selfish, Emily-chan? Hiding something so vitally important…"

"Yeah, sure, I should have sent a Hell Butterfly to everyone to announce them, right?"

"No, but aren't we friends? We should tell each other this kind of stuff."

Shinji grinned. 'Huge mistake.'

"Then how many times have you done it with Urahara-san?" Emily asked.

Yoruichi blushed crimson red. The other two started laughing. "We're just friends!" she snapped.

Emily grinned. "Oh, really?"

"Then we are 'just friends' as well!" Shinji said between fits of laugh.

"URUSAI!" Yoruichi yelled. The other two just kept laughing. "I DON'T HAVE A THING FOR HIM AND YOU BOTH KNOW IT!"

"That blush on your face says otherwise." Emily stated, now sarcastically seated on Shinji's lap.

Yoruichi blushed even more. 'Do we look _that _good together?' she couldn't help but wonder.

"Well, I did what I had come here to do. See you guys!" She left as quickly as possible, afraid of another offensive towards herself.

* * *

As soon as Yoruichi left, Shinji started laughing. "Oh, gosh, you got Yoruichi embarrassed! That's priceless!"

Emily lounged on the bed. "It's her fault for ruining the moment."

Shinji lounged next to her. "Yeah…"

Disappointment was clearly in the air.

"Shinji, what was Yuki talking about? The mission in HM."

"Well, after the whole thing with the King of Hueco Mundo, it has been decided that we need to go to HM every once in a while. Each Division sends people in turns. Now it's our turn."

"Can I go?"

"What about Helen?"

"She behaves."

"Are there any risks?"

"Umm… yeah…" Emily suddenly found the ceiling very interesting. 'Aren't there any black marks on this ceiling?'

Shinji noticed her evasive answer and rolled his eyes. "What kind of risks?"

Emily licked her lips absent minded (which he tried and failed not to stare at, but she didn't notice). "Well… it's not actually from Helen… but it does come from my Hollow side…"

"And?"

She shook her head. "It's complicated. Helen's hollow instincts take over, then she tries to take over my body, which happens easily. She wasn't weakened when I was. That's the risk. But the chances are slim, I swear!" she added quickly. She glanced at Shinji. He had a dark look on his face.

"Then you're not going."

"What?"

"Listen, if there are any risks, I'm not taking them, okay? You can forget about it."

"Shinji…" she said in pleading voice.

"No. Did you want to go that badly?"

"Yes." She said hopefully.

"Too bad. There'll be other missions."

"Please."

Emily soon noticed that she couldn't convince him with pleading alone. She snaked her arms around his neck, kissing him softly. His eyes widened when she straddled his hips, then realization hit him and he rolled on top of her. "If that's how you wanna play, then let's."

* * *

**A/N: In the following chapter you'll figure who won. XD**


	16. Departure

~~~~Next day, in the office~~~~

"Ah, good morning, Hirako-san, Niagra-san!" Naoki said. "Is there anything wrong, Taicho?"

Shinji looked pissed off and humiliated. Emily had a very content smirk on her face, barely able to hide her happiness.

"Nothing." Shinji huffed.

Emily seated herself on his desk, taking a paper and giving it to him. "So, can you please make the required arrangements, Shinji-kun?" she asked playfully. "I wouldn't like you changing your mind now."

"U-ru-sai." He muttered.

"Emily-chan, what happened?" Yuki asked, slightly amused.

"Eh, I'm going to HM with Shinji."

"Oh, how did you convince Taicho to accept such a thing?" Naoki asked, smirking. He could take a wild guess…

"Democratic negotiation." She answered. The other two started laughing. Shinji angrily shoved her off his desk.

"Is that true Taicho?" Naoki asked. "I thought there was no one better than you at that."

"Urusai!" Said Captain was in a bad mood. "Here, I did the damn papers. Take them to the old man." Emily smiled, kissed him playfully and shunpoed away. Shinji groaned in irritation. Yuki took another opportunity to leave. Naoki smirked amused. Shinji was still emanating frustration.

"So, how on Earth did she manage to beat you at your own game?"

The blonde sighed. "She is able to completely control her feelings and reactions when she wants to. You know the reason."

Naoki's eyes widened in understanding. "So how long did the _negotiations_ take?"

"About 4 hours. I can't understand how she isn't tired."

Naoki sweat dropped. "You don't seem tired either, Taicho."

Shinji brushed him off. "I am looking forward to the nap I'm taking when I get home. I can force myself to act normal until then."

"Well, good luck with that."

* * *

~~~Later, Shinji's POV~~~~

I went to my room alone. I was in no mood for an overly energetic Emily. Gosh, I wonder whether she takes the energy from me! I felt really tired and sleepy. I entered the warm sanctuary of the blanket, only to find very few moments of ease. "Shinji, whacha doin?" I groaned in frustration. My rest went drowning down the sink.

"I'm trying to get some sleep, Emily. I'm tired."

She blinked, scanning me. "Okay. Can I join?"

Now it was my turn to blink in surprise. 'Am I really going to escape just like this?'

"Sure."

She snuggled under the blanket as I encircled my arms around her waist, pulling her close. My chin was pressed on top of her head. My eyes slipped shut, but I didn't fall asleep. She was too much of a distraction, even when she wasn't moving, her chest rising and falling peacefully. Even then, I knew I would do anything and everything for her. Although she was annoying and mean sometimes, and she kept acting so much that I feared her real self would be lost. Like that day for example. She was all cute and energetic and sweet and tempting (and Mashiro) just to harass me. She was honestly a temptress, always proving me that she enjoyed the attention. I sighed, smiling shortly after. She was just my Emily, even with her ups and downs.

She soon moved slightly, making me flinch as well. "Shinji, you asleep?" she whispered.

"Nah, I'm not. Is there anything the matter?"

"I just… wanted to apologize for the way I acted today."

"Oh, that… don't worry about it."

She sighed. "I knew you'd say that."

"Oh, really? How?"

"Easy. I know you." She teased yet again.

I sighed. "Temptress. Stop it. I won't bother holding back today."

* * *

~~~~Emily's POV~~~~

"Oh, really? Whacha gonna do?"

Of course I knew I was tempting him, but he was just too much fun. I wanted to enjoy all the time we spent together, the main reason being that I feared it wouldn't be long until it would all be over. Yes, I knew it would end and honestly, I didn't want it to. It's been just 3 years since we met, the best 3 years of my cursed afterlife and I was starting to wonder what would tear us apart. I was wondering whether he'd be hurt by my disappearance, whether he really loved me as much as he pretended to. I really hoped he did. I would have rather died than know he didn't love me. I shook my head. No way would that happen.

"Emily? Is there anything wrong?" I saw the concerned look his eyes held and realized my fears were unfounded.

"No. It's nothing. I'm just tired, that's all." It was partially true, but I couldn't say that I was afraid of something that may or may not happen. "Don't worry about me." I felt him sigh before I fell asleep.

"You're asking for the impossible."

* * *

~~~~~Several days later, normal POV~~~~

It was finally the fated day of the departure. Emily and Shinji had to leave through a Garganta to HM. The main purpose of the mission was some boring reports about hollow activity, which Shinji was supposed to be doing. Urahara neared the two as they faced the open gate. "Let's go, shall we?"

Emily's eyes widened. "What?" was all she could manage to say.

"You're coming with us?" Shinji tilted his head in confusion.

Urahara nodded, his look becoming serious. "Yes, I am. We can't afford to leave her improperly supervised." He then whispered.

Emily gulped. "Then, are you the only one coming?"

He confirmed her hopes. "Yes." Emily looked relieved.

Shinji sighed. "Let's go, then."

The 3 stepped through the Garganta.

* * *

~~~~Emily's POV~~~~

I was safe. I knew it. I mean, after all, I had two Captains to take care of me. However, I couldn't help the feeling of unease I had. It might have been caused by Urahara's presence. I was a little intimidated by him. The way he seemed to know more than anyone was a clear sign of power. I both respected and feared him because of that, since he didn't seem to take advantage of his knowledge. So he knew something and he was worried about me. I couldn't help the chills down my spine caused by that thought…

~~~~Shinji's POV~~~~

I was thinking about Kisuke's words and Emily's information. I was really worried about her and the whole mission. After all, Hueco Mundo wasn't supposed to be a place for Shinigami and we were breaking the unwritten rule. We weren't supposed to be there. I was sure we were going to be attacked the moment we stepped out of the gate and it was going to be difficult to be in Hueco Mundo for a week and observe when we would be the best meal around. I sighed. "Hurry up guys!" I wasn't that impatient, just nervous and I hoped I could get rid of all that stress and anxiety as soon as possible.

~~~~Urahara's POV~~~~

I let the two love birds lead the way as I followed close behind. I was deeply worried about Niagra-san, even though I knew she was Senkai. I knew she had lost that power, and also Jyubi, which only added to my worry. The Hollowfication, however, was a whole different story. Her Inner Hollow was my main concern and I didn't try to hide it too much. I was constantly wondering what would happen if she lost control. My image was that of an undefeatable hollow rampaging through Sereitei. It was a scary thought…


	17. I need you

**A/N: Okay, the thing is… I honestly had no idea about the whole mission stuff. This is why I had said I was facing a writer's block. I didn't know what to write there, but I solved it by erasing it. My bad. Little to no action. Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

~~~~Emily's POV~~~~

Darkness… all over me… fear… despair… a Hollow scream in my head… then my eyes opened slowly…

I screamed, louder than ever. My hands were full of blood… Shinji's blood. He was lying unconscious, a huge slash splitting his chest. Urahara was staring at me wide-eyed. Benihime was in Shikai. I collapsed on my knees, unable to form a valid thought. "What… happened? What did I… did I… murder…?" That's when pain finally surged in. I screamed in agony, I hadn't noticed the wounds covering my body and I was starting to pay for it. I passed out again; this time however, it was a normal fainting fit.

* * *

I woke up in a hospital room, bandaged and dizzy. Urahara was sitting in a nearby chair. His face held a solemn look, that didn't change into relief or blame when I tried to rise.

"You shouldn't do that. You may reopen your wounds… and die probably."

"So? Is there anything bad if I die?" I asked. I knew what I did, and it was horrible and my entire fault. "I… It was my entire goddamn fault! I know it… that if you hadn't come, I would… I would've killed Shinji." I whispered the last part, clenching my fists. 'I won't cry! I can't cry! Not in front of him!'

Urahara sighed. "Probably. So? Are you going to mourn forever? Unohana said that he'll recover completely. Don't you trust her?"

"Of course I do! But…" I looked him in the eyes. He looked dead serious, making me shiver. 'Fear? Why am I afraid of him?'

"You are the ex Senkai no Emerald. You have defeated countless powerful enemies. Yet now, you prove to be a crybaby."

"URUSAI! This is different! Back then, I had all that power to support me! It was my safeguard."

He smirked. "So it meant everything to you. But you didn't seem too troubled by its loss. Or…" he trailed off, probably wanting me to continue.

I couldn't contain my anger anymore. Who did he think he was? "What do you want from me?"

"Nothing personal, just asking some questions out of pure curiosity." His behavior made me consider never pulling Hiyori off him again. "So?"

"Shinji means everything to me, okay? That's it. Happy now?"

He nodded, serious again. "Then be happy. He'll be as good as new in a month or so. Until then, he's still unconscious. You can see him in a few days."

* * *

~~~~A few days later~~~~

Urahara didn't come back after that day. The only person I was seeing was Unohana, who seemed to be just doing her job. I couldn't help but wonder whether they were afraid I'd lose it once more. "Unohana-Taicho…"

She turned around, a surprised expression on her face. "Yes. Is there anything wrong?"

I bit my bottom lip, still uncomfortable. "When, you know, when will I be able to go and… see Shinji?"

Her look softened as she spoke. "Well, even now, if you want to."

I nodded. "Arigato. Does anyone know I'm here? Or how I got here?"

She looked surprised. "What do you mean? Urahara-san said that you got attacked by a strong Vasto Lorde and you two got wounded. He killed it while it was distracted with you. You forgot?"

I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to appear embarrassed by my lack of knowledge. "I think I have a bit of amnesia."

"It's probably from the blood loss. Don't worry, you'll remember in the end."

I nodded, following her soon after as she left the room. She led me through the passages of the 4th and finally stopped in front of a door. "There he is." She opened the door and I entered. The sight was depressing. Shinji was unconscious, his chest fully bandaged. I saw many tubes coming from his hands and arms. "It's not as bad as it looks. The perfusions are just life-supporting since he's unconscious and can't eat." I nodded as she started doing whatever.

* * *

I couldn't believe it… what I had done. I walked over to Shinji's limp form, touching his hand. I kneeled near the bed, resting my head on my arms. I hid my face and started sobbing. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" I felt a gentle pat on my head and saw Unohana looking softly at me. Her touch made me feel warm and safe. However, it was different from when Shinji touched me. She looked worried. "I know what happened. But it's not your fault and I bet he wouldn't blame you either." I cried, my hands moving on her lap as she sat on the bed. I finally recognized the feeling. It was motherly love. I never knew how others thought of me, I never cared and I thought the same went for them. Apparently it wasn't true. Many people cared about me.

* * *

"_Bankai." _

"_Wow, Shinji, you're taking this way too serious."_

"_Suddup!" He slashed through most hollows and made his way towards me. "See? It's useful, baka."_

"_Urusai! Of course it's useful. It's the most you can do."_

"_Behind you!" Urahara yelled. I blocked the incoming attack and saw Shinji do the same. There were two Vasto Lordes, apparently twins. They were both very fast, but Shinji was able to keep up with them, unlike me. I was soon covered in small cuts and bruises. As the Vasto Lorde lounged for the final slash, I felt something crack inside me. An animalistic roar tore from my gut and my mask emerged. I lost it soon after. Killing the two wasn't nearly enough, I lounged for my boyfriend as well and he didn't block. He hadn't expected that to happen. Urahara, on the other hand, destroyed my mask…_

* * *

I woke up from my nightmare, panting hard. Bringing my knees up my chest, folding my arms around them, I knew that this time there would be no one there. Reality hit me in the face. I was hopeless without him.

'_It would be a real ego boost for him to know that.'_ I didn't answer. I knew the game. Ying was trying to distract me.

'_He probably already does. Master, try and take a walk. Maybe it'll help.'_ Yang sounded worried as well.

I sighed and dropped a kimono on me. Tying it loosely around my body, I made my way through the night. I didn't know where I was going or why. I just let my legs lead the way. I soon saw Yuki and Naoki. My eyes widened as I met their gaze. "Why did you do it, Emily-chan? Why did you try to kill Hirako-san?" Yuki asked. She looked sad, yet determinate.

"I…"

"Why? Aizen-Fukutaicho said that you had tried to murder Taicho. Why?" Naoki asked. He unsheathed his zanpakutou. "He also ordered us to kill you."

My eyes widened. Ying and Yang appeared by my side in their human forms. "We won't let you kill our master." They hissed.

"Don't! I don't want this fight. Can't you guys listen to me?" My friends shook their heads in denial. They lounged at me, but my zanpakutous blocked the attacks. I gasped as Naoki fell soon after by Ying's blade. Yang chose the gentleman approach and hit Yuki on her backhead. "Why?" I was shocked. "Why did this happen?" Somehow, I managed to pull myself together. "Ying, Yang, take them to the 4th. I'll go ahead to announce Unohana."

* * *

I shunpoed through the night. 'I can't do this alone. I can't. I can't. Shinji, you better wake up soon, or…' I felt the tears make their way down my cheeks. '... I'll give up.'


	18. Regret is useless

In a hospital room, Unohana was healing a wounded Naoki. Yuki was simply unconscious. Emily watched as her two best friends were healed from wounds her zanpakutous have caused.

"So, how did it happen?" the doctor asked.

Emily gulped, avoiding her eyes. "I was taking a walk and they attacked me. Ying and Yang materialized and protected me."

"I see. Did they tell you why?"

"Aizen ordered them. They had been told that I had tried to murder Shinji." She spoke lowly.

Unohana nodded. "And then he ordered them to kill you?"

"I think so." Emily sighed, then, after a small pause, asked the question that had been bugging her since she had woken up. "When will _he_ wake up?"

The other woman smiled reassuringly. "Anytime now."

* * *

Emily nodded, leaving the room to see him. Unohana's words had given her a little dose of hope she had desperately needed. She opened the door and saw nothing different from her last visit, but that somehow set her at ease. She sat there in silence for a few hours, hoping he would wake up, but that didn't happen. She sighed in the end, went to the bed he was resting on and put a hand on his forehead. She kissed his cheek, whispering then in his ear. "Wake up soon, Shinji. I love you and I need you right now." She straightened herself, took a few steps back and tried to regain her composure.

* * *

"Are you trying to finish what you started?"

Emily turned around, face cold as she spoke. "No. I never started anything. Are you, Yuki?"

The blonde shot her a hate-filled glance. "Yes."

"Not here. Please. You can be killed the same outside." Emily's twin zanpakutous materialized in her hands. She shunpoed outside and Yuki followed. "Shiraoshi. I don't wanna hurt you. But if you attack me, I will."

"Uusai!" With that, Yuki lounged at the ex-Senkai. Emily dodged the attack swiftly, barely touching Yuki's sword with her own. Yuki lost balance and, before he could regain her step, she had an x-slash on her back.

"I won't hold back." Emily said. "I have decided that if you don't even trust me, I have no reason to protect you."

Yuki kept attacking Emily, who didn't seem too interested in the battle. She didn't want to hurt her friend, so she simply dodged, landing small hits every once in a while. Yuki shunpoed away, panting tiredly. "How… how are you this strong?"

Emily watched her. "My power is starting to return. I'm about Fuku-Taicho level."

Yuki brought her sword above her head. "_Steal it all_." Reiatsu gathered into her zanpakutous, making it shine. She didn't have time to attack, however.

* * *

Emily gasped, her eyes wide. "Yuki!" she yelled as the blonde's eyes widened. She had been stabbed in her middle. Before either of them could do anything, the sword moved out, slicing though her side. Emily was shocked, staring as her friend fell, revealing the attacker. "Ichimaru… Gin." She whispered.

The kid smirked darkly, cracking open his pale blue eyes. "Aizen-sama doesn't need her anymore. Or her friend. He told me to get rid of them." He turned away to leave.

"You… dirty heartless son of a bitch. Get back here!" Emily yelled.

'_Let him go, dammit! You can't both defeat him and save her. You don't have Bankai yet!'_ Ying yelled.

Gin grinned and shunpoed away.

Emily ran towards Yuki. "Yuki! Yuki, don't die! Not here, not like this! You can't die!" she screamed. Her face fell. Her resolve returned as she started chanting. "_Obey my will. Stop the forbidden course of time right here. Freeze anything that moves or thinks. Take us away! Freeze anything that lives! Way of Travelling No. 46: Time-space distortion!_" She closed her eyes, putting all her reiatsu into the spell.

* * *

When she opened them, she was in a hospital room. Yuki was on a bed, Unohana right next to her. Emily sat up from her bed, watching the medic do her job. Unohana soon finished and turned towards her. "She will recover, hopefully. It will take a while, though. The wound was bad and she had a lot of inner damage. She had lost a lot of blood as well."

"How's Naoki?" Emily asked sadly. Unohana's words hadn't been too encouraging.

"He's good. He's awake. Actually, he should have come here now."

Emily's eyes widened, Gin's words ecoing in her mind. "Take me to his room. Hurry!"

Unohana understood the gravity of the situation and shunpoed to Naoki's hospital room. Unohana entered, closing the door after her. She didn't allow Emily to see him. The ex-Senkai tried to open the door, but failed to. Unohana had locked it. Just then, Aizen passed behind her. "You left her unguarded, Senkai-sama." Emily palled. "It's too late now. You lost and…" he grabbed her wrist, shunpoing them in a nearby storage room. "…as the winner, I claim you as the prize." He then felt two blades at his throat.

"If you touch her, you're dead." Ying hissed.

Aizen smirked amused. "Fine, I'll stay away. For now. After all, we have all the time in the world, don't we?" he walked away, leaving her alone.

* * *

Emily slid down on the floor. She pulled her knees up her chest, folding her arms around them. Her protectors vanished.

'Ying, please tell me. What was it in Naoki's room that Unohana didn't let me see?'

'_You don't need to know.' _Ying said_._

'_I'll tell you. He's dead. That's it.' _Yang answered for his brother. He omitted the details of the massacre.

'I knew it. I messed up. I had tried to protect my friends and I failed. I'm useless.'

'**You're not. I'm the one who should be blamed for everything. I'm really sorry. It all began because I wounded Hirako-san.'**

'It's not. I had insisted to go to Hueco Mundo, is spite of all your protests. And Shinji's.'

* * *

She got up, cutting the connection. She went to Shinji's room, touching the door slightly. 'Please be awake. Please. Please don't be dead.' She opened the door and squeaked happily. "Shinji!"

* * *

He smiled softly. He had been awake for a while and he had wanted to see her. He was resting on the bed, still uncomfortable with the wound. The bed's back was raised and he was leaning on it, in a sitting position. "Hey." He couldn't say anything more, he didn't have the time, as she shunpoed on him, holding him close. His eyes widened a little as he felt her arms around his neck, her legs straddling his hips as she clung onto him for dear life. "I missed you... I missed you so much... I need you, baka... Never do this to me again." She whispered. Her tears were streaming down his neck and he realized that something bad had happened while he had been unconscious. He wrapped his arms around her, patting her back softly. He didn't say anything; he knew that it wasn't the way to comfort her. She found mutual relationships best. However, he couldn't help but wonder what had broken her like that. The 4th Division member that had taken care of him informed him that she had been there before; also, about the fight with Yuki. He couldn't help but wonder whether something had gone wrong with that.

She calmed down after a while, settling to just lying casually in his arms. She enjoyed that feeling of warmth, like nothing could ever hurt her. She felt his hand in her hair, petting her like she liked. "Emily…" he started. She flinched at his tone, he looked serious and she was afraid of the question that had yet to some. "What happened while I was unconscious?"


	19. Qestions and dilemmas

**A/N: Okay, I apologize for the previous chapter. Mostly for killing Yuki and Naoki. I hope this one makes up for it, at least a little bit. There is a small spoiler in Unohana's words. Also, if you wanna kill me now, wait for the story to end. That'll be the best reason to kill me ever. But, no worries, there'll be a sequel! Again with the suspense… XD**

* * *

~~~~Shinji's POV~~~

I watched as the question sent shivers down her spine, making me worry uncontrollably. She was trembling and the grip her arms held around my neck tightened. "I… I'll tell you when you get up." I frowned at her response, who did she think she was talking to? I was a Captain, for Pete's sake! A little emotional distress wouldn't kill me! Those were my thoughts, but I took the smart approach and sighed, sealing away the conflicting emotions for the moment. Holding her chin gently, I forced her to look at me. I forced myself not to be broken by the pleading look her eyes held. I tried to look categorical as I spoke, but still not too hard on her. I knew that whatever it was, it had to be serious and bad news. I did my best to choose my words carefully. "Emily, I really wanna know what's bothering you, because it's obvious that something's wrong. Listen, you don't need to worry about me, about how I'll feel about it. Just tell me, and maybe you'll feel better about it."

She seemed thoughtful for a while. She was always very stubborn, a lot more stubborn than me, but I wasn't letting her get away with this one. Not now, when although she tried to act normal, I knew she was breaking on the inside, the small shreds of her mind still spinning in an endless storm. This was one of the things that worried me about her. She let feelings run her life, when something went wrong it hurt her more than anyone else, especially if it was about her friends.

Then, she broke out of my grip. Her eyes avoided mines as she looked down. "Shinji… I can't… I can't think about it now, when it still… it hurts so much."

* * *

~~~~~Normal POV~~~~

Emily tried to shoo away the memory as she avoided looking at Shinji. Just from being so close to him, just from hearing his vice, just from knowing he was there she already felt better, the pain slowly fading. But she couldn't even say their names for the time being. She couldn't. It just hurt her that much. She looked at Shinji, mutually pleading for him to understand. However, she barely had time to tilt her head upwards. She was met by his lips pressed against hers. Her eyes widened, but she didn't deny herself the pleasure she felt, the release she had needed so much. She followed his lead, slipping her eyes shut and rubbing her lips against his. She moaned as he opened his mouth, but made no other gesture whatsoever. She got the message, her tongue immediately meeting his eagerly. He moaned lightly as she fought him for dominance, for once not letting him win easily. The kiss was rough. Lust was the main feeling there, but she knew there was a deeper meaning to it. They parted and she saw the (still) serious look he had. "Emily, tell me. Please."

She sighed. She may have been stubborn, but she knew when to give up. "Shinji… Aizen told Yuki and Naoki that I had tried to kill you." She felt him tense at her words. "He had ordered them to kill me… and when they failed to… he… he…" tears were threatening to spill and he pulled her back into a hug.

"It's okay. I get it." He said darkly. He rubbed her back slowly, a death-like silence engulfing them both. She fell asleep soon after, her head resting on his shoulder.

* * *

Shinji sighed. It wasn't as if his worst fears had been confirmed. It was worse. He had never thought that Aizen could go as far as that. It was bad, it was definitely bad and he realized that the man was one step ahead of him. That was bad, he needed to catch up or more people would suffer. He knew that much. He just needed to figure out how. 'We need more people. But who?'

The door opened and Unohana stepped in. "Oh, Hirako-Taicho, you should avoid putting too much strain in the wounded area."

Shinji brushed her off. "I'm fine." He whispered, still holding a sleeping Emily.

The other Captain nodded and walked up to him. "You will be able to resume your duties sometime soon. A week mostly."

"Arigato, Unohana-Taicho."

Then she said something that shocked Shinji. "You have no solid proof against him, do you?"

Shinji gulped. "No. And very few people know."

Unohana smiled. "This is where you are wrong. There are many more people than you think. But the dilemma is similar. No proof."

"I'm sick of this." He hissed.

"He's foolish thinking that you're the only ones to have figured that something's odd. However, he's on the right track: you are the only one able to see through his illusions."

Shinji frowned. "Barely. Not through all."

Unohana sighed. "I had hoped that the Senkai kidos would allow us to see through illusions."

"Only other kidos."

"I know. And the Senkai herself is weakened. I doubt he'll give her the chance to fully recover her power. He'll make a move very soon. He'll try to get rid of her. She's currently the only thing staying in his way. If he attacks, the Taichos will fall."

"He won't attack."

"Oh, why not?"

"He's… how should I put it?... incomplete. Emily said that if he had been sure of his victory, he would have attacked us long since. But he didn't. So he lacks something."

Unohana nodded. "I see. I will announce you should we discover anything else."

"Don't. He will figure you know."

Unohana smiled. "Don't worry, Hirako-san, I will find a way."

"Don't risk."

"Hai."

The older Taicho smiled and left.

Shinji watched her leave. His mind was processing her words and warnings. He gulped, running his hand through Emily's hair. 'This is gonna be hard. People have already died clueless… he's after Emily, that much I know. He's after me too. But are we alone?' At that point, there were only questions and no answers.

* * *

~~~~Somewhere in Sereitei~~~~

"So, can I rely on your help?"

"Yes, Aizen-sama. I will follow your true justice against Sereitei."

"Would you attack your Taicho?"

"If you order me to, I won't hesitate."

"Good. I shall use you. You will be a vital pawn, but not now. I will make justice one day, Kaname. For now, act normal."

"Hai."

* * *

**A/N: The last pieces are grouping. Aizen is following his plan. Will things happen like canon? Or will Shinji win this time?**


	20. Doubt

Emily flew backwards with her blades in her hands. Passing through a few boulders, she made a huge crater when connecting to the ground. She slowly got up, panting hardly. She fell on one knee, resting with her swords. "More!"

Shinji shunpoed behind her. "Emily, it's over. It's useless to keep going."

"Shuddup! I said more!" she yelled.

"No." The answer was calm, but full of authority. "I don't wanna take you to the 4th unconscious just from training."

"You don't understand…" She trailed off, feeling weak. 'He isn't even using his Shikai, unlike me. I wouldn't be able to take it.'

Shinji's look softened. He knew it had to be hard for her to lose her friends and be too weak to do anything about it. "Enlighten me."

"My power will keep increasing for 100 years. If I train and reach the same level earlier, then from the recovery I'll be stronger."

Shinji sighed. "It makes sense. But it doesn't mean you need to kill yourself for that."

She closed her eyes. "Shinji, please. Just a little more."

Shinji looked away. "Fine." They both vanished in shunpo.

* * *

~~~~Later~~~~

"See? I'm fine." Emily threw herself on Shinji's bed. "No need to worry."

He removed his haori and carelessly left it on a chair. "Probably, but you're still overdoing it. And I don't like that."

She sighed, her look becoming sad. "It's not that… it's just… I can't believe I lost this much power."

Shinji sighed, sitting next to her. "You'll be fine. Don't worry, he can't hurt you." She looked at him, still not trusting his words. He leaned in to kiss her. "I won't let him."

"Yeah, I know." Her hands found the back of his head and she pulled him closer. His owns started to travel down her clothed body, teasing her. "Mmm, Shinji…" His tongue invaded her mouth, quickly finding hers. She tried to fight against him, but to her shame, lost to his far more experienced tongue. He took advantage of that and changed their position, straddling her hips on top of her, while she was lying on her back.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" he asked, grinning.

Emily chuckled. "Indeed, it has, and knowing you, that's a problem."

He glared. "We'll see whether it concerns you as well."

(M-rated)

* * *

~~~~~Later~~~~

"Ah, Hirako-san, good to see you out of hospital!" Urahara cheered.

Shinji smiled bitter. "Yeah, sadly things went wrong while I was in coma."

"Don't you greet me, baldy?" Hiyori asked as she punched Shinji.

"What the hell, Hiyori?" He then jumped on her, pinning her down, to which she escaped and they started scuffling as usual.

Emily sighed. "So, how are you, Urahara-san?"

"Pretty good, actually. I may need you to answer certain questions for one of my researches."

"Oh, I see. Are you researching Hollowfied Shinigami?" she whispered.

"Yes."

"Okay, I'll answer if you take me now to your lab."

"Good."

"Shinji, I'm going with Urahara-san. See you later."

"Yeah… dammit, Hiyori, that hurt!"

* * *

~~~~~~In Urahara's lab~~~~~

"Mayuri-san, can you give us a moment?" Urahara asked goofily as always.

Mayuri frowned. "I don't understand why you would like to spend time with a failed experiment."

Emily glared. Being with Urahara gave her a certain degree of safety around Mayuri.

"Well, looks like I need to take the other approach. I order you to leave the laboratory. **Now**."

The madman muttered something before leaving.

"I would like to scan your reiatsu, Niagra-san."

Emily nodded. "While wearing the mask?"

"Hmm, both. I want to understand the difference."

Emily nodded and sat in the tube the Taicho led her to. She released reiatsu, then, at his signal, summoned her mask. "I see…"

Emily dismissed her mask and walked up to him. "Is there anything the matter, Urahara-Taicho?"

"Your reiatsu is normal without the mask, but with it, your reiatsu begins to resemble that of Arrancars. Interesting…"

"Is there anything else?" Emily asked, worried.

"No, it's just… how did this happen?"

She sighed. "We had reached the power limit of Shinigami. Our bodies could not take anymore. But we still trained. During a fight, we reached our limit… and we evolved." Her eyes slid shut. "Way of Teaching no. 32: Flashback." Urahara's eyes widened as the darkness engulfed him. "Don't fight against it. You'll know what happened and how. You will see through my eyes, feel through my body, but you won't be affected."

Urahara slid his eyes shut as well, letting himself fall prey to the illusory kido.

* * *

… **(A/N: You all know what happened.)**

* * *

The scientist opened his eyes, shocked. "That is…"

Emily nodded. "Exactly what happened."

Urahara eyes her strangely. He was panting hard, her emotions from that memory still fresh in his head. Shock, fear, terror… death. Unlike him, she was calm, waiting for him to ask questions. He cleared his mind and regarded the memories objectively. "Something isn't right."

"Huh?"

"I mean, you left them out in the open, right?"

"Yeah…"

"But we never found the corpses."

"Eh, fuck, probably some Hollows ate them."

"Yeah, probably…" Urahara didn't seem too convinced. "Anyway, you won against your Hollow in order to keep your body?"

"Yes."

"Hmm… interesting. Good, that would be all."

"See you soon, Urahara-taicho."

"Bye."

* * *

~~~~Later~~~~

"What took you so long? Were you…" Shinji trailed off, letting her understand the subtle perverted message.

"Fuck no, Shinji." Emily said. "He wanted to know the details of my Hollowfication."

"I see… Anything interesting?"

"Nope..."

Her answer didn't convince him. "Emily, don't hide things from me." He pleaded.

"He said that there were no bodies when they discovered our death."

Shinji looked confused. "Is that bothering you? Maybe a Hollow ate them."

Emily nodded. "Yeah, maybe. That's what I said, but he didn't seem too convinced."

He sighed. "Listen, if they were alive they would have come after you, okay? Urahara is a scientist. He thinks of all possibilities. That's his job."

"I know, but it's annoying that he suggested this. It really makes me wonder. I didn't… I didn't check, Shinji! I ran away!" She felt his grip around her waist tighten.

"Didn't you say that they had used that kido? Do you doubt yourself now? Okay supposing they are alive, where have they been for the past 100 years?"

"I don't know… I don't know… Things stop making sense."

Shinji rolled his eyes. "Okay, if you can think of a place where they can be… I'll come with you."

Emily gulped. "Arigato, Shinji. I already have a place in mind."

"Where?"

"They may be with Tsukimi Masao."

"Who?"

"Our sempai."


	21. Travel

~~~~~Several days later~~~~~

"So, I take it you two are willing to see the ex-sensei of the ex-Senkai, Tsukimi Masao." The Soutaicho voiced.

"Hai…" Shinji responded. 'Oh, fuck, he doesn't seem particularly happy.'

"May I inquire the reason, Niagra-san?"

Emily fidgeted uncomfortably in her spot. "I… I wanna see him. I miss him… a lot."

"Then why is Hirako-Taicho coming with you?"

"There is a very dangerous area to pass. It was a challenge for us even as Senkai… but I think Hirako-Taicho will handle it, since the Hollows there are attracted to reiatsu… and you know how Andrew was…"

"Hmm…" The old man seemed thoughtful.

'He won't buy it, fuck, he won't buy it and he'll punish us for even trying to lie to him!' Emily thought.

"No one has been there for a while. Shouldn't we check on it?" Shinji said.

Yamamoto sighed. "All right, you can go. I'm expecting a message from Tsukimi-san when you return."

"Hai!"

The other two vanished instantly in shunpo.

* * *

"Arigato, Shinji. I owe you one for this." Emily said as they left.

He smiled. "Don't mention it. You know I'd do anything for you." He kissed her forehead. "Why else would I come?"

* * *

~~~The next day~~~~

"So, where exactly are we going?" Shinji asked.

"It's hard to explain. I'll just show you." Emily said.

"Okay."

The two started travelling via shunpo through the districts of west Rukongai, then past them, reaching the mountains. They travelled through the icy cold rocks, finding no sign of any life. "There should be a cave nearby." Emily announced. Shinji nodded. They entered the cave and made a fire with kido. Emily snuggled close to him, trembling. He held her close, nuzzling her hair. "It's so cold… I forgot about this…"

"How much more do we have?"

"Well, tomorrow we exit the mountains… and then there's the Hollow field… then other mountains, where sempai lives. When we leave these ones we need to send a signaling kido so he'll know it's me. I will send it."

"Okay. So tomorrow we'll be there?"

"Hopefully. The Hollow fields are dangerous, especially at night." Emily said, voice trembling.

Shinji pulled her closer, kissing her hair. "Go to sleep. You need to rest. Long day tomorrow."

"Yeah…"

* * *

~~~~In the morning~~~~

"Emily, wake up." Shinji said gently.

"No, Shinji, I'm so comfortable…"

"Emily… please, we need to go." He started shaking her.

"Grr, fine."

They ate in silence. Emily was nervous about the Hollow field. Shinji, on the other hand, was thinking about her sempai. He had no idea how the man would see him and that freaked him out. Emily had said that he was extremely strong, and Shinji wasn't too fond of a premature death. He sighed, seeing that she had finished eating, and got up. "Let's go, shall we?"

Emily nodded. "Yeah… we should go."

They left in shunpo and easily passed the mountains. Emily stopped on the top of the mountain, looking down at the hollows squirming around in the valley. Shinji gulped.

"We have to pass this valley?"

"Yeah…"

"Damn…"

* * *

"Prepare yourself while I fire the kido. _Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south!__Hadō #31. __Shakkahō__" _Emily started gathering reiatsu in her hands, the kido being far stronger than usual. After firing it, she fell on her knees, panting. "Damn… it wasn't supposed to be like this… I could… easily…"

Shinji helped her up. "It was overpowered. You should've told me to do it."

Emily shook her head. "You need to save your strength. These guys won't leave us alone."

He nodded. "Use your mask." Concern was tinting his voice.

"What?"

"Do it. Your reiatsu gets Hollow and they'll ignore you."

"No! Shinji…"

He interrupted her angrily. "Urusai! That's an order, 3rd seat."

Emily didn't say anything. Instead, she summoned her mask. Shinji grabbed her hand and ran with the sword in his other hand. Emily followed him. Unluckily, as a Taicho, Shinji didn't go unnoticed and the two were surrounded.

"Emily, hold your breath…" he whispered. She nodded. "_Collapse, Sakanade!_"

"_Show your power, twins of Ying and Yang_!" Emily joined Shinji as he ran through the Hollows, trying to get to his destination. He looked at her every once in a while to make sure she was doing well. Emily could keep up, but was slowly getting tired. Shinji decided to take matters in his own hands. "Bankai."

* * *

~~~~~Emily's POV~~~~

With a few swift moves, Shinji made his way towards me. I always admired the way he fought. Clean, lazy, bored, yet graceful at the same time. He was next to me immediately. "We need to move now. Let's go." I nodded, following him through the enemy territory. I was nervous. The more we ran, the more Hollows we got on our tail, although Shinji cut most of them instantly. "Down!" Shinji yelled suddenly. He pulled me down with him, my mask shattering in the process. I heard a familiar voice boom.

"Way of Fighting No. 3: Plasma." My eyes widened. The yellow rays sliced above us, instantly killing all the Hollows gathered there. "You can get up, kids… though I have to admit, I'm curious. What are you doing here, Emerald, and with a Captain nonetheless?"

The voice was unmistakable. My eyes were teary as I spoke. "S-sempai!"


	22. Sempai

~~~~Shinji's POV~~~~

I scanned the man facing us. He looked really old; his face portrayed his age perfectly. His hair was white and his eyes brown. His body, however, was an entire different matter. He was well build, tall and emanated power. He wasn't wearing the Shinigami Standard Uniform, instead he had a rather normal attire. I squinted a little to see his zanpakutou, which looked about as 'young' as the man himself.

"So, who would your friend be?" he asked Emily.

She got up panting. I was up before her and introduced myself. "Hirako Shinji, sir, Captain of the 5th Division."

He nodded, unimpressed. "So, old idiot died, huh? Moron, he was almost as bad as the Kenpachi." He muttered. "Well, what happened? Yamamoto never sends after me purposeless."

I shrugged. "He wants a letter reporting your activities, sir."

The elder laughed maniacally. "Oh really? I'll give him the best letter ever. Thank you for telling me. How long are you staying?" His look made me shiver.

"Sempai, we are only staying a month…" Emily started. "I had wanted… I want to ask you what you know about my brothers!"

I scanned the old man carefully. The question caused an eyebrow raise. That was obvious, but I tried to look deeper, as deep as I could. His eyes still seemed honest, but worried. I stopped the train of thoughts right there. I wasn't about to question an old man who could probably kill me instantly.

* * *

~~~~Normal POV~~~~~

"Well, I haven't heard from them more than from you. You guys don't keep in touch at all, though I can't consider myself a model." He said. "Although I did hear some rumors between the Hollows. You were supposed to be dead."

"Well, as you can see, I'm alive. Not the same can be told about my brothers." Emily said, her look darkening.

"I see…" Masao gulped. "But at least you survived. I guess they had sacrificed their lives for you, so you should move on and try to be happy, child."

Her eyes were tearing up at his words. She closed them, forcing the tears away. "I try. I try to move on, and I succeed most of the time, but sometimes I just remember about them and… a few days ago someone said that they may not be dead, that there's a possibility… and that's why I came here, sempai! I knew that this was the only place where I could find them if they were alive!"

"They aren't here…" Masao started "But you can stay with the kids nonetheless. They will be ecstatic. You just need to see them."

"Hai, sempai." Emily answered sadly.

"Let's go."

Shinji followed the old man through the sea of Hollows. "Are there Arrancars as well?" he asked randomly.

"Yeah, there are a few. This place is similar to HM for them. However, I am the king here. They all know to fear me."

"So that is the reason they are not attacking."

"Yes."

* * *

~~~~Later~~~

"Onee-san, one-san!"

Emily smiled and soon was covered by 15 children. Shinji chuckled. 'Maternal…'

"Hey, how are you guys? Wow, you've all grown up!" The small kids looked now about 10-13 years old.

* * *

"While she is busy socializing, I would like to know more about you, Hirako-san." Masao said.

"Of course, Tsukimi-san."

Masao led the younger man towards a small valley. "We use this one for training... What is your relationship with Emerald, Hirako?" he asked out of the blue.

Shinji was taken aback by the question. "Why?"

"I'm just curious. She wouldn't bring just anyone here with her, so you two must be very close, like best friends or… lovers."

Shinji rolled his eyes. 'Curiosity has no age.'

"Well, I can't deny that your assumption is correct, Tsukimi-san. We are indeed lovers. Now, may I ask you something as well?"

"Sure."

"What does this info serve you for?"

"Well, it satisfies my curiosity. And while we're here, wanna satisfy another one?"

Shinji groaned in irritation. "Fine, I'll bite, what is it?"

"How strong are you?"

Shinji gulped, already knowing what was going to happen. "Captain-level, obviously."

Masao chuckled. "Becoming a Taicho isn't the limit. Captain-level, Shintaicho-level, Lower Senkai-level, Higher Senkai-level, Soul King sparring partner. Which one of these?"

The blonde shifted uncomfortably. "Somewhere between the first two…"

"We'll see."

Shinji barely had time to block the incoming attack. Masao pushed him into the small valley, joining him soon after. "What are you going to do?"

"Huh? Fight you, of course. In order to label your strength I need to fight you."

Masao lounged at Shinji. Shinji's eyes widened as he shunpoed backwards. "Is this your full speed?"

"Nah, but I'm too lazy to use shunpo."

The blonde gulped. "_Collapse, Sakanade._"

"Sakanade, huh? Long time no see. So, let me remember how this worked… hm, like this?" Masao's sword stopped inches from Shinji's face. "Or rather… like this?" As Shinji brought up Sakanade for self-defense, Masao pushed him backwards, lounging after him instantly.

Shinji wasted no time. "Bankai."

The elder slid backwards. "Hmm… this is troublesome…"

"Like fuck I'm letting you fool around with me!" Shinji yelled, lounging at his opponent.

"Such a pathetic attack. You revealed your position by yelling." As he was about to move, a huge slash appeared on his chest. His eyes widened. "Huh? How…" A grin then found its way on his face. "I see… you came from the other direction at the last moment… you're smarter than you look. I like that. How about we start the real fight?"

Shinji was standing in a defending position, glaring at his opponent. "Yeah, we should finish this as soon as possible."

"Nah. It wouldn't be any fun."

Shinji held Sakanade horizontally and chanted. "Way of Fighting No 3: Plasma."

A pink ray of energy shot from the blade, and Masao stared contemplating at it. "Wow, that's quite impressive… but it's not enough." He easily blocked the apparently strong attack and emerged from the smoke, lounging at Shinji again.

"Shit!" Shinji whispered. The attack had taken a lot of his reiatsu. He was kneeling, his hands on Sakanade. 'Get up, get up. He won't hesitate to kill me!' He managed to block in the last moment, getting blasted right towards a boulder. He heard the distinct sound of bone breaking and the familiar pain in his chest confirmed his suspicion. Masao neared him and the Taicho noticed that the elder had no wound on his chest.

"Surprised? My regenerative abilities could compete with Andrew's healing. Well, I guess it's over. Hey, I need a doctor here!" two kids came over and started working on Shinji's wounds. Emily came as well, kneeling next to him wide-eyed.

"Sempai… why?"

The elder tilted his head to the side. "Just for fun. You can't protest now. You don't have Jyubi. You lost your power. And Hirako-san… your appreciation was right. I'll try to take care of that while you're here."


	23. Campfire

**A/N: Okay, all readers thank Gilbertina for her review. It really made me work on this chapter. And no, I'm not dead.  
**

**Now, to answer the review: First of all, thank you for what you said. I didn't find anything offensive (what did you find?). I have no idea why it seems familiar to you. About the extra chapter… I actually have a few ideas. One is a scene which happens in the prequel, when they're just friends… but I'll see about it. And there's a small one-shot which explains… wait, that's a spoiler. Sorry. :P**

**Okay, rant over. Enjoy and forgive me for being lazy.**

* * *

A week had passed since the two were with Masao. The elder trained them everyday. Emily was making little progress, according to him. However, Shinji was proving to be a little more difficult. Besides the fact that he seemed to hold almost no trust in Masao, he always came with new plans of attack, and the old man was getting headaches from trying to figure them out. 'He's quite good, but that's not what I'm trying to obtain.'

"Okay, kids! Today we're having a campfire." Masao announced.

Emily smiled. "Really? Yay!"

"What are you talking about?" Shinji asked, just waking up.

"Well, today we're taking a break and having a campfire."

"Oh, God, redemption!"

Emily laughed.

"You're one to talk? One of these days my head's gonna explode from trying to figure what you've got in store! You're a good leader, I'll give you that much." Masao complained.

Shinji grinned. "Arigato, Tsukimi-san."

"That's why you'll be in charge of everything. Emerald will show you around." He added, grinning.

Shinji groaned. Emily chuckled and leaned in, whispering something in his ear. He grinned. "Good then. Tsukimi-san, you will be the chef."

"NANI?"

"I'm in charge and that's my decision." Shinji replied smugly.

'Cooking for 18 is quite the task.' Emily thought, smiling.

Masao shook his head, amused. "Fine, fine. You won this round."

"Okay, the kids will gather wood for the fire. We'll have it on the training grounds."

"Hai, Taicho." One of the kids replied.

"Told you to stop calling me Taicho. I'm not even wearing the haori. Okay, we'll arrange the wood for fire. That's it, I guess."

Everyone scattered around to their assigned duties.

* * *

~~~~Later~~~~

"Sempai, tell us a story!" Emily said.

"A story? Well, fuck, I don't what to tell you…"

Shinji sighed. "What about the beginning?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your ties with the Soutaicho and Soul King."

"Hmm, that's short. But okay.

* * *

A long time ago, the Soul King used his enormous power to split Soul Society, Hueco Mundo and The world of the Living. To do that, he used Jyubi, the strongest Zanpakutou. Around that time, he knew two men he considered the strongest alive. He made a proposal to them. One would become the leader of the strongest organization in both realms. The other would have to live in the woods and only train the strongest Shinigami. In other words, power in numbers or power in loneliness. The first one chose power in numbers and his friend had to comply, facing oblivion. The Soul King, however, granted him power almost as high as his own. He lived alone for a long time, with only one order: train the ones with Jyubi's wielder.

* * *

That's it. You know the rest I guess."

"Ano, sempai, you never told me about Jyubi." Emily said.

"Hmm… I didn't, you're right. Okay.

* * *

The Zanpakutou weren't always inside you guys. They were partially independent beings who couldn't stay for too long in the Chaos. Chaos is the name we initially gave to what was before the Soul King split the dimensions. Then it became a simple word. After he split the dimensions, he found out that they still needed souls to inhabit, so he gave each one a soul, making that soul a potential Shinigami. The tie is unbreakable. One dies, the other does too. He gave us some of the strongest ones. In the end, he needed one for himself. That was Jyubi. In the right hands, his power is absolute. You may have noticed, Emerald. Your soul was able to use a good amount of his power, but not all. He kept you alive many times, through those 'deals' of his. Not many could tolerate it."

* * *

"But how come I got him?"

"Apparently, in your previous life, you made the Soul King a favor. He said that he would give you Jyubi to lead you in the path of happiness."

"I see…"

"Wait!" Shinji said. "He split SS, HM and The Real World. What about Hell? Or the dimension where he is?"

"Those were already there."

"Nande?"

"He has no power over Hell. Or the cycle. He can use it, but not change it." Masao clarified.

"I see…"

"Well, I'm tired. I think I'll go to bed." Emily announced.

"I've arranged for you two to sleep over there." Masao told Shinji, grinning. He pointed to a cave in the mountain.

"Arigato, Tsukimi-san." He grinned as well.

Emily pouted. "It's too high."

"Ah, don't worry, Emily-chan, I'll carry you." Shinji didn't wait for an answer and scoped her up bridal style, shunpoing them both to their 'bedroom'. "Goodnight, everyone." were his last words, leaving the others grinning and giggling.

* * *

~~~~In the cave~~~~

"Shinji, you really had to make a scene?" Emily complained.

He frowned. "Yes. What's wrong with that anyway? Don't you love me anymore?"

His question was meant to be just a tease, but she smirked realizing the worried tone he had. Shinji sat on the edge of the rock, his legs outside. Emily sat in his lap. "You know I love you more than anything, including my life. But I don't like people staring at us."

Shinji sighed. "I love you too. You should get over it."

Emily smiled. "I'll try, but I don't promise anything."

She turned around, facing him and straddling his hips. Shinji leaned in to kiss her. She smiled into the kiss, slowly grinding her hips against his. He moaned and shunpoed into the cave, where he sat above her, starting to go faster. Emily chuckled, starting to work on his clothes…

_M-rated scene_

* * *

The next morning, Masao found the two sleeping peacefully. Shinji had an arm around Emily's waist. The blanket covering both of them was slowly sliding down, revealing her chest a little. The elder blushed. "Hey, wake up, lovebirds!"

Emily sat up slowly, the blanket fully falling. Masao restrained a nosebleed. Shinji noticed (unlike Emily) and covered her. "Hey, what is wrong with you, pedo? Give us some time to get dressed."

Only then she noticed. Emily screamed. "Oh, shit!" Masao shunpoed outside.

'She may be my student, but I am a man! And she's fucking hot! I'm not blind!'

After Masao left, Emily fully covered herself with the blanket. "I'm so ashamed. Sempai saw me naked."

Shinji rolled his eyes. "Tch. Serves him right for waking us up." He started to get dressed. He then kneeled in front of Emily. "C'mon, we need to go outside."

She shook her head. "No."

He chuckled. "Listen, you've got 2 options: either get dressed or I'll take you out like this."

"Nande?"

"You heard me."

She frowned. "Fine."


	24. JJ's useful?

"Goodbye, kids!" Masao yelled as he watched Emily and Shinji vanish in the distance. 'Well, it's about time you grew up, Emerald. I used to think you'd never get a boyfriend. And what boyfriend! I kinda like this guy, Hirako. I'm sure he wouldn't say the same, however. Take care of her, or _they _will come after you.' He smirked. 'I know you will anyway. You can. I made sure of that.'

* * *

~~~~Later~~~~

"Soutaicho, I have brought the report from Tsukimi Masao." Shinji announced.

The old man nodded. "Arigato, Hirako-Taicho. On a more personal note, may I inquire the true reason of your journey?"

Shinji shrugged. "I wanted him to train me. He made _them_ Senkai, after all."

"In years. You only had a month."

"I don't crave that kind of strength. Just more than normal Taichos."

Yamamoto didn't seem too pleased by that answer. "Whatever. You're dismissed."

"Hai."

* * *

~~~~With Emily~~~~

"So, how do you feel?" Shinji asked.

Emily shrugged. "Fine I guess."

"I know you're disappointed."

She sighed. "I loved them so much. A different kind of love from you though."

"I know. I love you too."

"It's just… Urahara knows a lot of stuff. That's why I believed him for a second."

Shinji nodded. "He was wrong this one time."

Emily gulped, her hand going above her heart. "Yeah, this one effin time." She then shook her head. "I won't cry about this again. Let's just… focus on Aizen."

Shinji's look darkened. "Fine."

"Do you think I'm in danger?"

"Yes… but knowing that son of a bitch… I think he's gonna use someone. I just don't know who."

"Hmm… well, another subject expired… how about we pay JJ a visit?"

He shrugged. "Sure."

* * *

~~~~~At night~~~~~

"Oh, good to see you guys here. How are you?" JJ inquired seeing the couple.

"Fine." Emily answered.

"We have a bit of a situation in Sereitei." Shinji added.

"Like?" JJ smiled, curious. Although he wasn't involved directly in Shinigami business, he sometimes helped.

"Well, it's about…" Shinji covered Emily's mouth before she could speak.

"We should go somewhere private."

"I see. Follow me." JJ became serious all of a sudden.

The two followed him behind the bar, where a table for 4 was arranged. They sat down.

"So, you guys are a magnet for trouble. You didn't get into this much trouble alone, Hirako."

Shinji shook his head. "It would have been like this anyway."

"Tch, fine. Stop keeping me in the dark. Who is it?"

"Aizen." Emily said.

JJ's eyebrows went up. "Your Fukutaicho?"

Shinji nodded. "He killed two of my subordinates. I've even caught him spying Urahara."

Emily palled. "You didn't tell me this."

"It happened yesterday. I didn't find the time to."

"You could have told me today!"

"Yeah, so he would hear us!"

JJ coughed loudly to distract the two. "Okay, lovebirds, is that all?"

"Y-yeah."

"Does he have any underlings?"

"One that we know of. A kid with Fukutaicho skill and reiatsu." Emily said.

"Hmm… with silver hair and closed eyes?" JJ completed.

"Yes?"

"How come you know him?" Shinji asked, suspicion rising.

"I saw him come here with Aizen." The barman replied, shrugging.

"WHAT?" the other two jumped.

"You let him in my bar? You need to clean up now!" Shinji shrieked.

JJ chuckled. "Don't worry man, I didn't. He just tried to enter, that's all. I said he couldn't come in with the kid."

Shinji sighed relieved.

Emily seemed thoughtful. "Let him in next time."

"Why?" JJ was interested in her mentality.

"Well, listen to their discussions and warn us if there is anything suspicious."

Shinji fumed a little. "This is the only place that doesn't smell of Aizen…"

"Her idea is good and easy. Barmen are always listening to their customers talk."

"Y-yeah… but… fine, let him in."

Emily smiled fondly, grabbing his hand. She knew he had grown quite fond of that place over time, especially after he had brought her there the first time. He sighed. JJ chuckled.

"Well, now that the serious stuff's been taken care of… Hey, can we get some sake here?" JJ yelled.

"Oh no, you didn't!" Shinji said grinning.

* * *

~~~~A while later~~~~

Emily was carried an apparently passed out Shinji to Sereitei. "JJ, you're so dead next time we get here!"

The man grinned and waved. Emily sighed and shunpoed to Shinji's room.

"Okay, let's get you to bed." She whispered.

"Hmm? Who you? Hot chick…" he whispered, regarding her with hazy eyes.

She blushed. "You're so drunk, Shinji…" she remarked, chuckling.

'Oi, guys, could use some help here!'

'**They're asleep. But I'll help you.'**

Helen helped Emily place the drunken Taicho in his bed then vanished. Emily chuckled, seeing he wasn't asleep yet. She sighed. "Go to sleep, baka."

He reached for her neck and pulled her down, her eyes widening as his lips pressed against hers. She pulled back a little, but soon decided to just give in. **'You two are so helpless~! Be glad that he finds you hot even when he forgot who you are.'**

'Yeah, I am. But…'

'**lol, fuck the buts and get to work. Ying's lacking porn.'**

'Damn you.'

_M-rated scene_

* * *

~~~~Next morning~~~~~

Shinji woke up with a massive headache. He slowly got up, holding his head and trying not to throw up.

"Morning. You sober?" Emily asked teasingly.

He groaned. "Mhm. With a massive hangover bonus."

She chuckled. "JJ did a fine job of getting you drunk."

"Yeah... Oh, shit." He disappeared in shunpo.

Emily rolled her eyes and put a dressing gown on. She took one for Shinji and followed him in the bathroom. As expected, she found him kneeling next to the toilet. She sighed, sitting next to him. She draped the gown on him, holding his hair. His body was still convulsing, although his stomach was completely empty. Emily rubbed his back. "Hey, calm down."

"I am... trying"

She sighed, her hands moving from his back to his stomach and forehead. Shinji flinched. "Relax…" she purred. "It's a kido Adrian used for Andrew's hangovers."

Indeed, he was starting to feel better. "Arigato."

"See? Now get up. It's Monday and you have work, Taicho." Emily whispered seductively.

Shinji moaned. "You're _such_ a temptress…"

"Oh, I thought you'd be satisfied after last night…"

Shinji seemed confused. "Still a blur."

"Eh, I won't remind you."

They both got up and got dressed, heading to the office afterwards.

* * *

~~~A few days later, at night~~~~

Helen came quickly, entering Emily's room, who was chatting with Shinji. **"He said that Aizen was there yesterday. He only heard them chatting, but he said one thing that he thinks is important…"**

"Well, what is it?" Emily asked.

"**He said… he'd get rid of the main nuisance in mostly a month… and of the other nuisances in mostly three years."**

* * *

**A/N: So close, no matter how far. (And nothing else matters- Metallica)  
**

**We are nearing the climax. What will happen in one month?  
**


	25. In the evening of 'that day'

~~~~~JJ's POV, one month later~~~~~

I thought it was an evening like any other. Many customers, one of my barmen taking a day off, me having to replace him, that kind of stuff. I was serving some annoying customers, hoping they would get drunk soon so I could get rid of them, when an unexpected person walked in. My eyes widened slightly. 'Holy fuckin mother-raping cow! It's Hirako!' However, I tried to act as natural as possible, ignoring one thing: he looked depressed as fuck, and even that was a huge understatement. He dropped some money on the table, looking at me neutrally dead. "The Scholarship Office." He ordered. Okay, now I was getting incredibly concerned.

* * *

For starters, I think I need to explain what the Scholarship Office was. The club has some more 'private' rooms which anyone could use. Okay, anyone with money. They are both pretty expensive. The first is called 'The Scholarship Office'. It's basically a room where the customer is being brought anything he wants: herbs or cigarettes, sake or cocktails etc. in a very official manner. Usually, couples go there to… get some privacy.

The second, however, has something more. Women. It's called 'The Businessman Office' and, of course, it's more expensive. It is also mostly preferred by single men, obviously.

* * *

Now, the thing was… well, Hirako hadn't entered any of the two since he had left. I knew him too well. When he was upset, he sulked. When he was very upset, he drank. When he was… I don't know, incredibly upset, on the edge of suicide, well, that was when he did drugs. And fuck, it was rare. His optimistic attitude and the influence of Shinigami education and language made him rarely upset and disgusted by drugs. Also, he only drank when he didn't have _**anything**_ else for comfort. He had never showed Niagra-san either office, and I doubted that she knew about them. Wait a second… the only thing that could get him that upset was if something had happened to her. Maybe she was in hospital unconscious or something… wait… her being in hospital meant that she was alive, which was enough to comfort him away from drinking. Then what happened?

* * *

I led my friend to the private room and took a seat. He didn't say anything. For a while I was questioning myself whether he knew I was there. He drank slowly, absorbed in thought. After a few bottles and some cigarettes (he was always so hard to get drunk or drugged! Altough I was the only one who managed to do it) he finally spoke. His voice sounded broken and weak, as if he had lost all resolve. I just kept asking myself what could have happened to get him like that.

"So, aren't you going to ask what happened?"

"Nah, I figured you'll tell me when you feel like it."

He shrugged, smiling amused. "And if I never will?"

I sighed. Maybe he was a bit dizzy. "Then I'm fine not knowing. I know you didn't come here to be interrogated, Shinji. You would have stayed back if you wanted to relate a story. You are only searching for relief, something to get your mind off whatever's bugging you."

His smile faded halfway through my words, about the time I said his name. He took a deep breath, finishing the joint. I didn't like seeing him like this. He was my model in life. Even after he had left. I wished I could follow him. In my eyes, he was someone strong, worthy to be followed. Seeing him like this made me think of horrible things.

"You know, JJ, life is a bitch. Especially when you rely on her too much." He sighed. "When you get emotionally involved you're the easiest to break."

"What are you talking about? You were the one who said that emotions lead us, strengthen us and make us…"

"It's still true… but while the outside gets stronger, the inside gets weaker. And when you lose that one thing you care about the most… it's game over."

"What are you talking about? It's not like you can lose anything right now. You're strong and you can protect everyone." I said, my fists clenching.

He laughed, not that anything was funny. When he stopped, the pain returned, now even stronger. "You're right, JJ. I can protect… and break."

He took another sip, not bothering to talk during the next few bottles. My fists were clenched in frustration. I didn't understand anything he said. His words held a sad tint to them and I was desperately trying to comprehend him. He just glanced at me from time to time, less and less connected with the reality. I was hoping that he would tell me everything in the end, when he would be drunk enough. His normal self wouldn't even breathe a word of what happened, but he was usually more talkative when drunk and that's what I was relying on.

"JJ, which one of my girlfriends did you like the most?" Hirako asked suddenly.

"Emmalin." I answered immediately. There was nothing I had to debate and I knew the same went for him.

He smiled sadly, avoiding my eyes on him. "I see… why?"

I shrugged. "Well, firstly, she's a hottie and secondly, you two are like made for each other."

His fists clenched, his eyes squeezing shut in pain. As he calmed down, he said. "We were made for each other?"

"Well, yeah. She… oh, fuck, Hirako, you know I'm not good at this sort of stuff. What's the point?" I have always been fully aware that I sucked balls at reading people. He was good at that kind of shit and that was another reason why I admired him.

He smirked slightly. "Yeah, I know."

Then silence again. I was starting to regret shutting him so quickly and violently, but I soon realized that he didn't answer my question. After my head started hurting from too much thinking (my brain is usually on holiday and it complains when it has to work), I got bored and started counting my friend's empty sake bottles. '1, 2, 3, 4, 5… 6… 7… 8!' Oh, damn. Those Shinigami would kill me for getting him _that _drunk. I sighed, thinking about a way to take him home. 'This night was useless after all. I don't know shit.'

"Hirako, you should go home. It's late and…"

He interrupted me. "And what? Don't worry, JJ, no one will hurt you. They all know you."

I sighed. Silence again. I eyed him warily, trying to figure something, anything. I was surprised that he still looked somewhat normal, not trashed or anything. His eyes were a small giveaway of the joints lying on the table, but other than that, he looked normal, only suffering. I soon noticed that he was scanning me as well, his caramel eyes hard and unforgiving. His gaze then went lower, to the table. His eyes widened slightly in comprehension and he sighed, depression taking over again.

"JJ…" he started softly "do you have any idea why I came here tonight?"

"No." I answered.

He sighed. "Thought so. I'm a sinner..."

I interrupted him. "You're not, my friend. Things just go wrong sometimes."

He shook his head in denial. "JJ… I did something horrible."

I gulped. "Don't worry. Whatever it is, I won't judge you."

"Stop speaking like her." He whispered. I barely heard him. "Arigato."

"Shinji, what did you do?"

He took a deep breath, as if trying to shoo away the memory. "I… I killed her, JJ. I killed Emmalin with my own sword."

* * *

**A/N: Well, yeah, two chapters in the same day. That's because you are getting nothing for about a month. I am leaving on holiday! In France! Oh, yeah! Well, that is from 9 to 21 August. 1-4 is another trip… well maybe I'll write something in-between. But until then, good luck figuring what Aizen did. And Shinji.**


	26. How it happened

~~~~JJ's POV~~~

I carried Hirako home on a grim road. So many images were haunting my mind, images I didn't witness but I imagined so real that I felt as if I were there. I sighed, looking at my unconscious friend who was slumped over my shoulder like a bag. I clenched my fists in frustration.

* * *

"_I loved her more than anything, JJ."_

* * *

'Why?' I thought. 'Why did it have to end like this?'

* * *

"_She was my everything."_

* * *

My eyes closed in pain.

* * *

"_He was too good. We didn't see through it."_

* * *

I took a deep breath, wanting to scream, but I couldn't. I knew that if I did, _he_ would find us. Aizen I hated that man with all my being. Emmalin might have been Hirako's girlfriend, but she was my friend as well. There was that and the fact that I hated him for hurting my friend.

I walked slowly through Sereitei. The guards eyed me strangely, but I ignored it. I left my friend in his bed for some well-deserved rest. No words were good enough. No actions could soothe the pain or heal the wound that would surely leave a scar on his heart. I knew Hirako oh-too-well. He had never loved anyone that much. When he broke up with a girl it didn't affect him too much. He never got emotionally involved. Until he met her. I knew I would never see him smile like he did when he was with her. I would never see him laugh like that again.

* * *

I left the barracks and headed home. Hirako's decay affected me a lot. The lost look his eyes had held was painful to think about.

"So it's true, after all. He really killed her."

Kyoraku's voice brought me out of my trance.

"What?" I asked.

The Taicho came out of the shadows and walked up to me in a grim manner. His hat was covering his face as his haori moved slowly around him. "He killed her."

I gulped nervously, wondering how he knew.

"We were told that she was a traitor and he was ordered to kill her, which he did."

"IT'S A LIE!" I yelled before I thought. "He… he loved her more than anything!"

"I know." His face was unreadable and his voice serious. "This is a great loss. This round was won by Aizen."

I gulped. "Y-you know?"

He sighed. "Yes, most of us do, but we can't do anything. He who is a master of illusions lives under the illusion that we don't know about him."

I didn't say anything. I understood their reasoning. They couldn't have done anything.

"But we can't do anything." He moved his hat and looked me in the eyes. "Tell me, how did it happen?"

I took a deep breath. "I… well, it all began in the morning…"

* * *

~~~~In the morning of 'that day', Normal POV~~~~~~

Shinji read all the boring paperwork in his office, yawning boredly. Emily was in her room, she wasn't in the mood to help with paperwork and she had finished her own. He took another paper from the stack. 'This is so boring.' Aizen was busy doing whatever, so the Taicho was alone in his office.

Suddenly, a hell butterfly flew in. Shinji allowed it to land on his hand so he could hear the message.

"_The traitor Aizen Sousuke had been discovered. The Taicho of the 5__th__ is ordered to find the traitor and kill him. Repeat: kill Aizen Sousuke."_

Shinji shot upwards, his adrenaline maxed up. 'Finally!' He searched for Aizen's reiatsu and found him on the Soukioku Hill. He shunpoed towards it, ready to end it all with his Fukutaicho.

"So, you finally got caught?" (So, you finally decided to let me kill you?)

Aizen smirked. "You can't kill me, Taicho. I'm too strong for you." (Tch, you can't get me, Aizen. I'm stronger than you.)

"We'll see, bastard." (We shall see that.)

"Of course, Taicho. But I warn you, you will be surprised." (Of course, Aizen, but I warn you. you will be shocked by my strength.)

"Braggart bastard." (Annoying bitch.)

Shinji shunpoed towards 'Aizen', aiming for the kill. He blocked, sending the Taicho backwards. Shinji slid swiftly, then charged again. The two opponents exchanged blow after blow. They crossed their blades and were thrown in opposite sides of the field.

"Shall we end this, Hirako-Taicho?" (Shall we end this, Aizen?) 'Aizen' mocked.

"Sure. I'm sick of seeing that grin on your face." (Sure, I'm sick of you trying to meddle into my affairs.)

They both prepared their attacks and lounged at each other, their attacks colliding at the edge of the hill. Shinji felt Sakanade pierce his enemy's body, he was incredibly happy and relieved, he knew his friends were safe and Emily would be protected, until…

"Sh-Shinji?" Emily whispered.

His eyes widened, his face portraying shock. He saw that the person he had stabbed wasn't Aizen, but actually… "Emily?" he whispered.

She sighed, coughing up blood on his white haori. "It all makes sense now. We've been tricked… he won… gomen…" she pushed herself off him, falling into the valley outside Sereitei. 'I love you, Shinji…' were her last thoughts as she reached the ground.

On the hill, Shinji had wanted to jump after her, but he couldn't. The barrier around Sereitei prevented him from doing it. "Emily!" he cried.

* * *

~~~~~Back to the present~~~~

"He couldn't go after her. If there was still a chance, it was lost." JJ finished.

Kyoraku covered his face with his hat. "I see. This is bad. Really bad. Two birds in one stone, they say." Kyoraku left soon after.

JJ watched him and continued his journey home.

* * *

~~~JJ's POV~~~~

"You really are a hindrance, aren't you?" I flinched at the calm, formal voice behind me.

"Aizen." I whispered. I tried to gather my courage. 'I haven't seen his Shikai yet. I need to keep it that way.' "Anything I can help you with?" I didn't look at him as I spoke.

"Hmm… yes, die!"

"_Shock, Raiden!_" I blocked his attack and damn, he was strong! I shunpoed backwards, dodging the Kido sent my way. 'Fuck, he's stronger than an average Fukutaicho.'

"Scream!" I pointed him with the tip of my sword and a lightning emerged towards him. He blocked it with bare hands and lounged at me. We exchanged a few blows, until he pushed me behind. I tripped and fell. As he prepared to land the final strike, he vanished.

* * *

My eyes widened. Behind me, there stood a stranger dressed in a black cloak. I could barely register his pale skin, black eyes and dark hair. Aizen smiled.

"And who would you be?"

The stranger covered his face. "That would be none of your business, Aizen. All you need to know is that I will kill you if you touch this man."

The smile extended, sending chills down my spine. "Oh, really? How would that be?"

The stranger made a hissing noise and from under the cloak ten yellow tails emerged. Aizen's grin vanished as they went after him. He fled soon after. "Tch. He left." The stranger turned towards me. "Get up." I obeyed.

"Who are you?"

"That's none of your concern either. I will live with you for a while. That is, if you cherish your life and Hirako's wellbeing."

I nodded, leading him through the night. 'Daisuke. Your name is Daisuke.' I thought, remembering Emmalin's story with him.

* * *

**A/N: The parentheses represent what Emily heard/said during her conversation with 'Aizen'.**


	27. The end?

~~~~~~Kensei's POV~~~~~

When I heard everything I could barely believe it. I thought it was some kind of joke, a cruel joke played by someone. Anyone! It didn't matter who. But when I saw Shinji I realized it wasn't. He had really done it. He had killed Emmalin because she was a traitor. I couldn't believe it. I was shocked. I didn't think when I spoke my mind. "You always said you loved her more than anything, yet apparently not more than your job." His eyes widened and I saw he was on the edge of breaking. He didn't say anything, he just left and I figured there was something we didn't know. I kept asking myself whether what we had been told was true, but whatever the case, one thing was clear. Shinji had killed Emmalin… and he regretted it deeply. I also noticed that he was more wary of Aizen, that he seemed to avoid the man at any costs. I even caught them arguing one day: Shinji was yelling a lot of nonsense while Aizen was smiling triumphantly. I only caught one of his replies that had been implanted on my mind ever since. "Hirako-Taicho, you lost now. It was so easy to see you suffer, so easy to break you that I couldn't resist." I walked away, shocked. When I calmed down, I talked to Hirako and made him tell me everything. Not only me, but everyone. He agreed in the end.

* * *

~~~~~~Love's POV~~~~~

The message left me stunned. Emily had been one of us, dammit! It all appeared so impossible. There was no way she was a traitor and especially that Hirako would kill her. I saw it. Everyone did. It was just impossible for him to raise his sword against her. He would have rather killed himself. Or, at least, that's what I thought. I soon realized that I was right. He just seemed so… dead. I don't know any other way to describe it. He just told us the details about her death, then waited for our reactions. "You always said you loved her more than anything, yet apparently not more than your job." I was the only one who saw Hirako's face when he left. He looked so destroyed, he didn't deny Kensei's words, but I knew they weren't true. Just from the way he looked as if he was about to commit suicide when he left. I was shocked to see that. Things were making no sense. I mean, he didn't want to kill her, but he did. Was it some sort of mistake? A fatal one? No, no way, because the higher-ups wouldn't have covered the whole thing. I only found the answer a few days later, when Shinji called everyone to 'tell us the truth.' When I entered, I saw Lisa with Kensei and Mashiro already there. Rose came shortly after, and so did Yoruichi and Urahara. Hirako looked full of doubt, but Kensei barked around as if he was some sort of leader, eventually making him speak.

* * *

"You told me you'd clarify the Aizen stuff! Do it now!"

Hirako sighed, and we could almost see a heavy weight on his shoulders. "Well, it all started a little after Urahara's promotion…" I couldn't believe my ears. His words described so many things done in so much secret!

"That's all nice and Aizen stuff, but what does it have to do with Emmalin's death?"

Of course she was involved. But… Aizen's true Shikai crept us out. Hirako ended it with the mention that he was told to kill Aizen, but it was Emily. It was too painful to relive the details, I figured.

"What did he want from her?"

Shinji's eyes widened at my question. He seemed thoughtful for a while, as if he was debating whether to tell us the truth or not.

"Emily was Emerald… Senkai."

We stared at him as if he was nuts. Then it all clarified. "That night… you let her fight because she was stronger than you… and the Jyubi thing…" Rose whispered, shocked. We all listened to his story again, this time though, he didn't hide anything. She was strong, well used to. I couldn't believe it, what she had been through as well, what they hid from us.

Lisa stood up. "And you expect me to believe all this?"

"No. It must sound ridiculous and fake, but Kensei told me to reveal it." Shinji answered.

* * *

~~~~~~~Shinji's POV~~~~~~

She was gone. It took me a while to accept it. Accept that I would never see her gratious form move swiftly around me, I would never hear her suave voice and I would never see her smile. Ever. Again. My heart still hust every time I thought about her. We never even searched for her corpse. They just assumed that it had been consumed by hollows. When we were sent to search for all the Vanishing Souls shit I just assumed that it didn't have anything to do with Aizen. How wrong I could be! He just watched us Hollowfy and told me that I was a funny toy to mess around with. I just hate his god damn attitude! Luckily Urahara swooped in and saved us. Now we're in the World of the Living as exiles. Like Aizen would have allowed us to go back to Soul Society…

* * *

~~~~~~Shortly after Emily's 'death'~~~~~~~

"Bro, hurry up!"

"This is a very delicate matter. Hurrying won't help."

"Like shit it won't! Sis is dying and you don't give a fuck about it!"

"*sigh* Here we are."

Emily vision was a blur when the two figures knelt near her and tried to heal her lethal wound.

"This is proving harder than I thought…"

"WTF? You are the best medic alive! Only death is your limit… and stuff like that."

"Listen, moron, my healing abilities rely on the hatred the enemy felt when they wounded the one I have to heal. I can only feel regret and guilt. How the fuck do you expect me to heal that? We need to take Onee-san back with us and use _that_, supposing Sempai will allow us to."

The two took her back and placed her in an isolated environment, filled with healing properties.

* * *

"Adrian, who did this? I know you know. I… I can't find her Soul Necklace. What will happen?"

"She will be fine, hopefully. As to who did this *sigh*… she will tell you someday. For now, let's hope that what worked for us will work for her as well."

* * *

**The End.**

**A/N: Well, stay tuned for a sequel! **

**P.S: Can you guess who the strangers are? XD Didn't expect this, did you?**


End file.
